Family Next Door
Updated: Mar 12
A spoken word poem. Watch the full performance here.
In Korean, the word “이웃”
holds a deeper meaning than just “neighbor.”
옛날 한국 사람들은 이웃들과 가족같이 친했습니다
Years ago our ancestors and their neighbors were one,
becoming family,
related not through blood
but being
human.
We cared for one another
rejoicing and crying
together.
But recently, we’ve been far too busy to focus on our neighbors.
Occupied with school, work,
social media, our own desires—
whatever it is that distracts us
from the burdens our neighbors carry.
The same burden
Amadou Diallo carried.
An immigrant, he came from Guinea,
seeking to start a new business, a new life, but instead
he found bullets
41 bullets hailed down from police in his own home.
Trayvon Martin carried
a can of iced tea and a bag of skittles.
He was only seventeen
when he was followed back home
shot and killed by a man
who claimed he was just “protecting his neighbors”.