RIP chinua achebe

butterfly
by chinua achebe

Speed is violence
Power is violence
Weight is violence

The butterfly seeks safety in lightness
In weightless, undulating flight

But at a crossroads where mottled light
From trees falls on a brash new highway
Our convergent territories meet

I come power-packed enough for two
And the gentle butterfly offers
Itself in bright yellow sacrifice
Upon my hard silicon shield.

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"when we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly.”

“there is no story that is not true.”

“privilege, you see, is one of the great adversaries of the imagination; it spreads a thick layer of adipose tissue over our sensitivity.” 

"the world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.”

"charity . . . is the opium of the privileged.”