Story-telling (A Found Poem)

 The danger of single story: 
creates confusion
catastrophe
dispossess
malign
creates stereotypes
misguided
break
close to the truth?
But
Many stories matter:
They 
change our worlds
build paths to empathy
open up new worlds
stirred my imagination
empower
humanize
repair
Stories matter:
influenced by family and community
security, independence, pride
self-learning process
empowering
steps to hope
I’m a story-teller.

[This poem was written as an assignment for a course on the history of residential schools.  It was the result of an activity titled Found Poem, where I was asked to record words or phrases that stood out to me from two different readings.  I was then supposed to create a poem using what I recorded that reflected my ideas and feelings from the readings. The date is approximate since I forgot to write down the date I wrote it.]