A Spark of Empathy

Sometimes, a single glance can shift the view,

A moment in time that makes the old feel new.

For me, it came through a screen, a burning light,

Paris is Burning turned my world upright.

Not just a film, but a window unseen,

Into Harlem’s drag balls, the vibrant, the keen.

A hidden universe, where the cast-away thrived,

Creating family, art, and love to survive.

Before, I thought I knew their fight,

But the veil was thin, the lens too tight.

Now I saw dreams, grit, and scars worn bold,

Not just stories told, but lives uncontrolled.

The film unraveled the truth of the fight,

Not for mere tolerance, but for what is right.

For justice, for love, for the chance to be—

To exist, to dance, to live authentically.

And in their struggle, their joy, their art,

A fire was kindled deep in my heart.

To be a better ally, to raise my voice,

To stand, to bridge, to fight by choice.

We are not separate, not "us" and "them,"

But threads in a single human gem.

This film taught me, with all its grace,

That empathy begins when we see every face.