Monday Morning

Sun’s out strong, bright.

Beneath the trees, one hears the song of birds. The air is cool, refreshing, touching. Clear, a damp, cool breeze on the skin. A carress.

Woke up late, in his arms. Didn’t want to leave. Very confortable there. I procrastinated, till it he had to leave. Dissapointed, I drifted off into sleep again. Woke again and was tempted outside by the fresh beauty of the morning.

Have been thoughtful. As always…!

Fact is, my world, our world is always beautiful. And, always ugly. It is a struggle to reconcile the beauty with the ugliness. We cannot dwell too much on what is ugly. Yet we cannot forget that it is. Life is the flow of a stream, the course is not smooth, nor predictable.

So, my country is sanctioning a gay genocide.

It is odd that such a terrible statement is true. And yet, the people who are behind it are also adamant that they love gay people. They are just fearful of the spread of the gay disease. Not AIDS. Homosexuality. They fear for themselves. They fear for their children. And, their fear has translated into a fight for life, for people like me. And, we are losing. What horrible things fear can justify! Imagined fears are more portent than those which are not imagined.

The Rev. Gideon B. Byamugisha, the guy who I wrote that he was not afraid of being called a tri-sexual? Well, I should have remembered him. He is one of those heroes of Uganda’s fight against HIV. A bonafide hero. Not a self serving nincompoop like Ssempa. His article was interesting.

It is a small world. Which someone in the US makes abundantly clear. I love this brief, touching, summary. Read the full article here. But here is what I have lifted.

“Take the bad and make it better. But there are no maybes for the gay men of Uganda. There is only the prospect of brutal punishment. As long as those sanctions exist, as long as our brothers suffer, we are all Ugandans.”

Yes, we are all Ugandans. It is tempting, too easy to throw off the pain of another people. Because we cannot make common cause with them. Or, they are too far, too different, and we are too busy. Odd, brings me back to the first thought. We cannot dwell too much on what is ugly in our world. It is too depressing, too down pulling. But, we cannot also forget that it is.

I would love to make this day rich and fruitful, like one of our fields; the grass dew touched, the hoe going deep into the soil to turn it over, leaving rich dark earth fresh turned behind me. Knowing, that come harvest season, the ears of maize and beans will be rich and abundant.

Which reminds me, I have not yet tasted an ear of maize fresh from the field. Nor have I had any grasshoppers…. Hey, we eat them here in Uganda. They are a delicacy in season at the moment. Rich, crunchy, absolutely mouthwatering!

Have a great day.

gug