Blessed Are The Poor in Spirit by Alice Walker

"Did you ever understand this?

If my spirit was poor, how could I enter heaven? 

Was I depressed?

Understanding editing,

I see how a comma, removed or inserted

with a careful plan,

can change everything.

I was reminded of this when a poor young man

in Tunisia

desperate to live

and humiliated for trying

set himself ablaze;

I felt uncomfortable warm

as if scalded by his shame.

I do not have to sell vegetables from a cart as he did

or live in narrow rooms too small for spacious thought;

and, at this late date,

I do not worry that someone will

remove every single opportunity 

for me to thrive. 

Still, I am connected to, inseparable from,

this young man. 

Blessed are the poor, in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus. (Commas restored).

Jesus was as usual talking about solidarity: about how we join with others

and, in spirit, feel the world, and suffering, the same as them.

This is the kingdom of owning the other as self, the self as other;

that transforms grief into

peace and delight.

I, and you, might enter the heaven 

of right here

through this door.

In this spirit, knowing we are blessed,

we might remain poor."

http://www.biography.com/people/alice-walker-9521939

Rationale for piece: Alice Walker is a great addition to any collection of multicultural literature. I chose this because Walker uses this poem to employ the idea of walking in another's shoes and being able to understand why people do the things they do. This would be great for students to start relating to others through multicultural literature. I would like to have students use this poem with current events. That way, they can use the literature to relate to real life events that they are used to hearing. They can research real world events and it will help them make connections. I think that this would help them realize that literature can be used outside of just reading and analyzing in class. It can also be used by students to empathize with those they don't know. I would like to pair this poem with Charlie-O, and do an activity after the Charlie-O activity about understanding others. I added the biography link specifically to watch the video. It is short and sweet, but really powerful. Alice Walker has an inspiring past, and I want students to really be able to visual their poets, instead of seeing them as inaccessible. This way, students can picture and understand why Walker made the choices she did in her work.