Dear Florida State Representative Kathy Castor Poem by James McLain

I humbly write to you
not only as a citizen, but as one whose faith in the principles of compassion and justice has carried me through these years of quiet suffering.
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Yours is a position of great influence, and with it, the ability to set right a wrong that weighs heavily on my heart,
can you not hear?
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There is a harmony in nature—birds and bees,
the wind that sings across the open fields, and waves caress our gentle shores—reminding us of our shared obligation, our belief to one another.
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Yet, this harmony falters when those entrusted with our care turn us away.
I have spoken to many of your aides, laid bare my need, and now I must appeal for justice to only you.
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Empathy and compassion should not be rare commodities;
they are the lifeblood of our shared humanity.
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For years, I have bled under the strain of this wrong,
my path made crooked by burdens I cannot now bear alone.
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The Constitution promises help to those in need, yet the weight of such in seeking it humbles even the strongest.
The fourteenth amendment states.
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My faith lies in the strength and trust of those who lead, hoping they will steady even our uneven roads.
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The velvet sky is full of stars unseen, hidden behind the clouds,
much like the truth I now bring to your doorstep.
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This wrong, unnamed yet ever-present, has taken nearly all that I can give.
If you should turn away, I wonder thus: who then are we, if not the hands that lift us up our face to one another?
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Butterflies and dragonflies once began as tadpoles, confined to the ponds that nourished them.
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We, too, are bound by what shapes us, but we must rise beyond it.
Ethically and morally,
I am asking you: please, lift the phone, and speak the words I seek.
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A single act of advocacy from you could release the truth, clearing the clouds that obscure the moonlight of my hope.
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This is not just about my needs; it is about the principles we uphold,
the humanity that we profess to share.
Please, I ask of you, right this wrong. Help me see the stars once more, before I go to sleep.
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Yours sincerely, I am all you are that's good that you should keep, the other side at bay.
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I am,