A Final Judgement
©By Vijaya Sundaram
April 30th, 2013
It’s always about the hierarchy —
Who’s above whom, and who’s below
And who’s stacked at the top
And who’s down at the bottom.
But who am I to approve or not,
If I am not, myself, perfect?
So, if I judge them or evaluate them,
Should they not judge and evaluate me?
And won’t the judging stand in our way?
And is not all this an artifice, a construct,
A means to justify ourselves to each other?
A means to prove our worth and our realness?
And perception of power and position
And the dull echo of a lack of power
Give a false sense of place
To the judge and the judged —
One seated above, the other
Waiting, humbly at the lower step.
One looking down, kindly or not,
And the other looking up, grateful but resentful.
At other times, it’s about the
Mutual acceptance of a smiling,
Shared understanding, where
One bows to the other, and asks
For judgement, and sometimes,
For praise, and sometimes,
For forgiveness, the one submitting
To the will of the other, willingly.
And would the judgement
Stop us from seeing the true face
Of our humanity, and our
Shared fates? Could we judge
Without judgement, without harshness?
Could we judge with love and kindness?
Would that be judgement? Could we judge,
And let go of our judgement?
We are not God, except that we are.
And the only being who could
Ever judge, and from whom we
Could hope for understanding, is
Our downcast, sorry selves, not a figment.
It is we who hold in our hands the key to
That final forgiveness and that
Final Judgement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The End ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~