Thank you Charles, for writing this and for vulnerably speaking your truth. As a 68 year old white man who has realized his apathetic misgivings, there are several things I can do, all of which, I hope, demonstrate a request for forgiveness, not just speaking it.

In the men's organization I belong to I am working with other white men to listen to our brothers of indigenous background and men of color and to speak into the isms that I once knowingly or unknowingly condoned as a young man. I continue to study what I do not know, and I am remorsefully attempting to change myself, do what I can to shine a light on my own privilege, and work to change a system that does not yet recognize its own shadow on all the isms.

Bless you and may I call you too, fellow poet?

Bruce