Sometimes poetry seems to defy
Difficult moments of everyday life
Times can be raw and hard to express
Days I keep things close to my chest
Daughter-in-law tomorrow set to begin
Long months of chemo to battle breast cancer
Son and grandchildren holding up well
Support from neighbors a loving bulwark
Family draws close at tenuous time
Grateful for many who help share the load
Love, prayer and food provide nourishment
Hope for the future sustains us all
A little boy, five years old
Part of church on Sunday morning
In the circling of people
Passing peace to one another
Dutifully but unconcerned
He puts up with us
Today like other Sundays
He accompanied his mother
Sitting quietly in a pew
However unlike other Sundays
Prayers were offered for his father
And recovery from a stroke
In the passing of the peace
I offered sympathy and hope
To the mother and her son
He smiled and reached out for my hand
As if to say he always knew
That love was passed with peace
This morning when I went to church I was not handed the usual bulletin for the worship service. Following the events of the past week we were gathered to lament the acts of blind hatred and fear that have pierced our nation’s heart. Like spontaneous expressions of grief pictured in the daily newspapers and online we lit candles in silence, shed our tears, prayed and sang. A young black boy was sitting close to me. I wept to think of what his future might be just because of the color of his skin. I grieve for the soul of America. I’m thankful for a time to pray and cry with other people. And to feel a flickering of hope.
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| Andrea Stephenson on Re Turnjng |
| poetrybyheart.me@poe… on Re Turnjng |
| Pleasant Street on Re Turnjng |
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| Pastor Kris on Re Turnjng |
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