Men, we have been waiting a very long time for you. You have shunned us, mocked us, hated us, raped us, abandoned us, broken our spirits, and still we love you. Still we wait for you. We wait because we knew you when you were in our bellies, and then our arms, and when you knew nothing of hate or violence against us. You only knew love, for us, this earth, for life itself.
We remember your wide eyes of wonder and sounds of glee and delight to be wrapped in our arms as we lay in the grass watching the butterflies and birds dance and sing. We watched and celebrated as you ran through the fields and climbed trees feeling such joy in belonging to a land that embraced you as its own.
We knew your pure soul before they took you and molded you into something that couldn't feel anymore. They shunned you, and mocked you, and broke your spirit. "Pussy!" "You're not hurt, shake it off," "Boys don't cry!" "Don't be a sissy!" "Man up!" We watched as the sparkle and wonder disappeared from your eyes, and as your sounds of delight became fewer. We watched as you became hardened soldiers ready for battle against some unknown enemy. Without a clear target, you turned the hatred and anger on us, on the land that held you, and on yourselves. You forgot who you are, and where you belong. No longer feeling worthy, you became hungry ghosts wandering, pillaging and taking all you could. Despite all the destruction and pain, many of us are still here waiting, with open arms, and hearts shattered wide open.
It's time to come home and grieve a river of tears in our arms until you remember who you are. Then we'll dance and sing again while the butterflies and birds celebrate your homecoming.
Come home.