Social Justice

When you are working for social justice:

You will cry when a fellow worker burns out from the stress of daily survival.
You will cry when you sit at the hospital with a friend’s sick child.
You will cry when you hear stories of pain like your own.
You will cry when you lose a battle with the politicians.
You will cry for joy when you win a battle with politicians.
You will laugh when everyone brings the kids to a meeting and they play among the agenda items.
You will laugh when a woman marries with great joy and hope.
You will laugh when the isolation of poverty breaks down and you are not alone.
You will laugh when a planning meeting is cooperative and productive and warm.
You will be angry when you see the effects of poverty in more lives than your own.
You will be angry when you read official statistics and reports and realize nothing is done unless your group tries.
You will be angry when politicians hear but do not listen.
You will be angry when hindsight teaches you a lesson.
You will grow strong when you tell your own poverty story and survive.
You will grow strong when you make a public speech.
You will grow strong when you write press releases.
You will grow strong when the group's action brings an editorial in the local press.
You will grow strong when you are patronized and ignored because your message for change is too uncomfortable to hear.
When you work for social justice you will change.

-Mary Wasley
Mary is a food program organizer out of Nanaimo. The sentiments in this poem can be applied to getting involved in political acts.