By Ernie McCray
I like the image I saw of
Tim Walz,
Kamala Harris’s
vice-presidential candidate,
walking comfortably
at her side
into a political rally,
to thunderous applause
which he accepted without pause,
his hands held high,
wearing a smile
as bright as the audience’s festive energy,
like a man ready, as we used to say,
to take care of the b-i-z,
something the country truly needs.
And my judgment of him
based on what I’ve been hearing about him,
that he’s an okay guy,
became verified before my very eyes
as I watched him,
in the middle of a speech,
suddenly look down at someone
who was wilting in the heat
and said “somebody’s hot”
and went about getting help for this man
and others who seemed to need assistance
on this very hot day
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin,
choosing not to proceed with what he had to say
until the situation was taken care of
and, having witnessed this tender moving display of love,
I can’t help but sense
that the White House is soon going to be inhabited
by people
who will lead the nation
holding true
to their stated views
of not going back,
of creating a future
that will be beautiful to look at,
one in which, according to Walz’s wishes,
people’s choices are respected
and they’re not told who they should love
or what books they should read
or be subjected to health care that doesn’t suit their medical needs:
one in which people are neighborly
like he was with the folks who were overcome
by the temperature at the rally.
Tim Walz
keeps the hope I’ve been feeling of late
very much alive.
Ernie McCray is an activist for love and peace who acts and sings and writes both poetry and prose, a man who rises each day to do whatever he can, no matter how small or grand, to make the world better in some way.
Unapologetically.