My Dungeon Shook by James Baldwin

 [Originally written 8/24/2020]

At the end of "My Dungeon Shook", Baldwin states a line of poetry that more or less summarizes his intentions and meanings to his nephew: "The very time I thought I was lost, My dungeon shook and my chains fell off."

This line is filled with symbolism, imbuing it with depth and multilayered meaning. Sometimes, when we think we are lost, we are slowly taking the path to find a different part of ourselves. Sometimes when we think we are lost, we are breaking the chains that bind us to our false perceptions and imperfect realities. Taking the new path; daring to go beyond society's ideas for better or for worse; those are the strides we can choose to take against the norm and will make us feel lost- but lost with the purpose of escaping the dungeon whose false pretenses we are slaves to.

For me, taking the pledge to not only understand, but live Baldwin's line is my promise to action for civic engagement.