Following the Breadcrumb Path: A Review and Reflection

by Cedrick Von Jackson
R3 Contributor

Many of us may remember the childhood story of Hansel and Gretel, where two abandoned tikes attempt to no avail to navigate their way home by leaving a trail of breadcrumbs in the forest. Of course, birds come along, devouring the breadcrumbs, leaving the young travelers lost in the woods. “Following the Breadcrumb Path: Navigating the Journey Toward God, Justice, and Love” attempts to extend this theme beyond simply finding home. What I aimed for in “Following the Breadcrumb Path” was an attempt to lead readers, fellow travelers in life, on a journey of personal discovery, hoping not to leave them lost on their particular paths. 

In reading the book, you will notice that world-renowned poet J-Ivy is quoted in the preface and in the “About the Author” section. Ivy states, ““We are all here for a reason on a particular path. You don’t need a curriculum to know that you’re a part of the math” (emphasis mine). This line resonates so strongly because so much of poetry and even life is left up to experiential interpretation. That we interpret life and poetry through the lenses of our own prior experiences. So, in the poems and short stories, there was not as much of an attempt to tell you, “This is what I think,” or “This is what I want you to think,” as there was to ask the question, “Now, what do you think about that?” As the poet, these are obviously my thoughts on certain themes, but the reader is always left with the option to agree, disagree, or even empathize. But hopefully, the reader is never left with the option of not thinking. 

As the subtitle of the book suggests, the poems center around three themes – God, justice, and love. Starting off with poems and writings about God, I wanted to portray the complexities and even the perplexities of our walk with God. In this age of religious pandering and pathetic/prophetic buffoonery, I think we sometimes lose sight of how complex and sometimes frustrating being in relationship with God can be. Yes, God does hear and answer prayer. But no, God does not always “Come when we want Him.” And God, according to our own timelines, is not “Always on time.” And it is frustrating. As the poem “Easy Like . . .” infers, it is not always easy for us to get up on Sunday morning and make our way to the sanctuary. But we dress up with clothes, cover up with make-up, and show up for church anyway, searching for hope, signs, miracles, because that is what we have come to expect to find. 

The section of the book on justice consists of more poems than the other two sections. This is perhaps because justice is a more weighty matter for me. Throughout the book, I drew from not only my own personal experiences, but from the wisdom and experience gained through my mother and grandmother. My grandmother always had these “old wives tales” which would be conjured up at appropriate times. The short story, “Fishing on Sunday,” (in the God section) and the poem “At Least the Sun Is Shining,” are both based on some of these wives tales. “At Least the Sun Is Shining” is specifically concerned with domestic violence. “On days that sun shines while rain showers fall, my grandmother would say, ‘The devil is beating his wife.’” The poem laments not only the fact that domestic violence occurs, but that so many times, those in violent relationships find excuses and reasons to stay in those relationships until the unimaginable happens. These reasons run the gamut from getting bills paid, to having a roof overhead, to upholding societal expectations of maintaining the façade of a successful relationship, etc. However, perhaps the greater tragedy is that so many look on with contempt, knowing the violence is occurring, but saying absolutely nothing about it. “At least the sun is shining, right?” In the more general vein of justice, is this not what happens in so many instances of injustice? So many turn a deaf ear to cries of injustice, and cycles continue. 

The final section of poems deals with themes of love. I chose “themes” of love, because for me, love is multi-faceted. I did not want to write simply about romantic love. Love does so many things in our lives. Love allows deep friendships that call for the answering of the phone at the most wee hours of the morning. Love calls for wives of 53 years to stand by hospitals beds and do nothing more than be there rubbing a balding head. Love allows you to let go of an ailing mother and eventually smile because of the memories. Love points us to our true passions in life, be that music, art, poetry, or just being. As we all journey together, following the breadcrumb path, the real hope is that love opens us all up to new possibilities, new discoveries, ultimately not necessarily finding God, justice, or love, but finding ourselves.

Follow Cedrick on Twitter @breadcrumbpath