After Matthew 10:34
Not serenity, but intensity, you say.
Not acclamation, but indignation.
Not peace, but a sword.
Every day's a desert in your strange kingdom,
Every day's a test, I struggle to keep up.
And the sun scorches my arms, my legs, my dreams.
Not elections won, but privileges lost, you say.
Not popularity, but vulnerability.
Not peace, but a sword.
When agents break down doors
To take away neighbors, fathers, friends,
Let me choose faithful not peaceful.
When presidents toss democracy aside,
And scapegoat the brown and black and beautiful,
Let me choose faithful not peaceful.
And when the ogres of fundamentalism
Target our sisters and breathe misogyny and cruelty,
Let me choose faithful not peaceful.
Not huge halls, but small circles, you say.
Not long lives, but decent days.
Not peace, but a sword.
Not violence, but patience, you say.
Not vindication, but imagination.
Not peace, but a sword.
DGJ 3/10/17
An occasional series of poems during the Lenten Season.
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| USA: International Women's Day |
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| New Zealand: International Women's Day |
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| Turkey: Protest Against Treatment of Women in Society |
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| USA: Protest Against Violence Against Women |
