InI, in Beatrice by John Roy

All that we have
Is capable of higher transformation
To Spirit Self
The hatred we had and found as others hardened
To us can be as cider - 'suck it up'
So shows the outer world by inner pain a path of kindness
The softness of she, or he, who loved us so tenderly
Will be with me forever as a gift
A faculty, but can be more than that
Allowed to leave us in its flight
Aflame forever in its own true freedom
Our inner lover toddles to its feet
Unsteady, fumbling yet, but ready for the next step
'I am I         In InI we meet'.

Note: A legacy of slave days, colloquial Jamaican speech used 'me' where standard English uses 'I'; slaves had been taught to see themselves as objects rather than subjects even in their own speech. The Rastafarian movement, realising this, began using 'I' in every possible context. In particular Rastas use 'InI' (i.e. I and I) where English uses 'we', a coining that shows exactly the relationship of the humans we are seeking to grow into, in the age of the consciousness soul.

Published in Perspectives December 2018 -  February 2019.