Issue 7:
Want
Suzanne Ruth Thurman
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Blood Is Thicker Than Sorrow
It ain't easy, Jackie, but who said it would be?
Yeah, who said it would be?
When I'm hot and you're cold. When I'm hungry and you're full.
When I'm tired and you're awake.
It ain't easy when nobody respects us.
Who don't respect us, Tom?
Lots of people. Can't you see 'em when they come through the tent?
I saw a lady cry once. Don't that mean something?
Pity ain't the same as respect.
Why'd she feel sorry for us? We're the lucky ones. How many other guys get to dance with the tattooed lady, or chase fireflies with the bearded woman, or play cards with the strong man?
Only a few.
And we don't need a ticket. It's all free.
Free, Jackie? I wouldn't say that.
Aw, Tom, life ain't so bad. How many other brothers share a heart?
Not many.
We're one-of-a-kind, just like the sign says.
That's great, Jackie. Reduce our life to an advertising slogan. Don't you want people to like us for who we are, instead of who we ain't?
Why? It's good to share a heart.
Yeah, Jackie, but it ain't easy.
Nobody ever said it would be.
~Suzanne Ruth Thurman
Suzanne Thurman, history professor and award-winning writer, explores the human condition through scholarly and fiction writing. Her book on Shaker women is forthcoming in 2001. Email.
© 2001 by Suzanne Ruth Thurman. All Rights Reserved.
© 2000-2002 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.
This page updated April 30, 2002.