Who is scorched worse,
the one who dives to take the bullet,
the one who shoots,
or the woman spared?
Take Ruby Sales, for example—
how she and Jonathan Daniels,
thirsty from heat and the Hayneville jail
stop for a cold soda on their way out of town.
Deputy Tom Coleman is angry, is ready;
he aims his gun pointblank at Ruby.
Daniels sees it coming, pushes Ruby over
throws his body in bullet’s path.
The 26-year-old priest dies instantly.
But 17-year-old Sales?
She barely speaks for months.
What words can convey such a moment?
The air charred by gun blast,
her limbs tumbling violently,
his body hurtling past, memory blurs
bloodies, incinerating life too fast.
No one can speak for Daniels, Ruby or even Tom
and know what burning coals each held that August day.
Only—how does one live beneath such burdens:
the smoldering scars of hate,
the sear of no greater love?
Editor's note: Sales, founder of the SpiritHouse Project, is a nationally recognized human rights activist and public theologian. Coleman was acquitted of the death of Jonathan Daniels by an all-white jury and died in 1997.
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!
