“It’s not about how long we live, but how wide we live”
Said someone to me as I was trying to cry secretly on a bench in Kilburn.
You’re just like me so that means you’re different.
I pray to the east, you pray to the sky
But in London we’re in the same position.
I don’t know you but I’m proud you’re my neighbour.
So glad you’re here with me.
You bring different experiences, different wisdoms.
You belong here, so be wide here.
Being here isn’t about origin or intelligence.
It’s about bringing your elements.
Expand yourself with whoever’s next to you.
Lean on me until we blend skins.
Blur yourself so you can focus.
The bigger picture includes you.
Draw on the human experience so you can illustrate humanity.
Humanity starts with hue, community ends with unity,
“It’s not about how long we live, but how wide we live.”
About how deeply stitched each of our fibres is.
Everybody is London material.
Each of us was cut from a different cloth and
Have become the face of a community.
No matter where you can trace our threads back to
– Timbuktu, Lahore, Hanoi –
London means weaving our fibres into stronger fabrics
So our outfit is strong enough
To endure the storms and keep us warm.
Maybe you’re a lake who believed they were just a puddle
Befuddled that your ripples could turn into waves.
Maybe you think you fell from the sky and landed here by chance;
But that means the ground was extremely lucky.
We improve spaces by taking them up.
A gift is meant to be opened.
