"To and Fro"

Buffeted to
And buffeted fro
Hit from the front
And hit from behind

Friend or enemy
I know not which
It is hard to tell
Which is which

Accusations flying
Mouths are dropping
Knives are out
From the unlikeliest of places

Solid allies are now questionable
What you thought you knew
You don't know anymore

Places of safety are no more
Or so you have to wonder
After what has happened

Old wounds long since thought gone
Coming roaring back to the surface
Brought back by those who are supposed
To be friends

Do you walk away?
Do you run away?
Or do you stay and
Try to fix what has been broken?

That is the question.
The answer, I do not know.

"A Prayer Poem"

I was trying to find a prayer to lead off a meeting at my church and had the opening stanza here stuck in my head.  I couldn't see a prayer with that in it, so I wrote down the following prayer poem.  A little basic, but I still love it:

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God of our hope
God of our fears
God of our joy
God of our tears

God of today
Whether we are far or near
God of tomorrow
You are ever near

God of love
Who holds us tight
God of hope
Who gives us light

God of plenty
Who gives us to eat
God of light
A lamp to our feet.

God up in heaven
Looking down in love
God here on earth
Bringing your peace from above

God of all time
Who holds us in your hand
God of compassion
Before you we stand

God of all things
Protect us with might
Give us your wisdom
Now and on all nights.

Amen.

"Voice for the voiceless"

Je dois être une voix pour ceux qui sont impuissants à parlent d’eux-mêmes

I am the CEO in the high office
I am the jobless person in the alley
I am the professor in my ivory tower
I am the student struggling to understand
I am the millionaire living in my lavish mansion
I am the homeless person living on the streets

Debemos ser una voz para aquellos que son incapaces de hablar por sí mismos

I am Trayvon Martin
I am George Zimmerman
I am Matthew Shepherd
I am Sandra Bland
I am Adolf Hitler
I am Maya Young
I am Noony Norwood
I am Philando Castile

I am sinner and saint
I am woman and man
I am innocent and guilty

Kuralkaḷ illāta makkaḷukku, nāṉ avarkaḷiṉ kurallaka iruppēṉ

We are all star stuff
We are made of the same stuff that makes the stars
We must love all
We must be all
We are one
And one we are

Different, yet the same
Unique, yet identical
Individuals, yet a group
E pluribus unum

Dzayn peetee leenehm anhayt neh reem

We are Trayvon Martin
We are George Zimmerman
We are Matthew Shepherd
We are Sandra Bland
We are Adolf Hitler
We are Maya Young
We are Noony Norwood
We are Philando Castile

We are sinner and saint
We are woman and man
We are innocent and guilty

Na-noon bung-uh-ri wah go-doke-han ja-ee song-sa-rur wee-ha-yuh eeb-ur yur-ay-oh

We are the CEO in the high office
We are the jobless person in the alley
We are the professor in an ivory tower
We are the student struggling to understand
We are the millionaire living in a lavish mansion
We are the homeless person living on the streets

I must be a voice for the voiceless

We must be a voice for the voiceless
For just like us, the voiceless
Are fearfully and wonderfully made
Just like us, the voiceless
Are made of star stuff
The stuff of the stars

Je dois être une voix pour ceux qui sont impuissants à parlent d’eux-mêmes
Debemos ser una voz para aquellos que son incapaces de hablar por sí mismos
Kuralkaḷ illāta makkaḷukku, nāṉ avarkaḷiṉ kurallaka iruppēṉ
Dzayn peetee leenehm anhayt neh reem
Na-noon bung-uh-ri wah go-doke-han ja-ee song-sa-rur wee-ha-yuh eeb-ur yur-ay-oh
I must be a voice for the voiceless
We must be the voice for the voiceless

"Confustication"

Is it wrong to feel conflicted over good news?
Is it wrong to feel sad when someone else is happy?
Is it wrong to feel despair on some's happy day?

Sometimes it feels like the world is moving along
but I am standing still
Lost in a perpetual rut
Alone with no one to be there for me

I want to feel happy
I want to be overjoyed
I want to be ecstatic about your news
And for a bit I do
But then. I don't

Sometimes it feels like I am perpetually alone
Sometimes it feels like I have nothing to live for
Sometimes it feels like I get to watch everyone
around me be happy while I have nothing

It is strange to be sad when you are happy
It is strange to be depressed when you are well
It is strange to be conflicted when I should be happy for you

Joy seems like something so distant
Happiness seems to be like butter in a hot pan
Companionship seems like something for others
but not for me

But I must soldier on and present the face of happiness to the world
I cannot let my true feelings ruin your wonderful day
I must hide my conflict behind a mask so that you don't see it
I must watch everyone move along but me

I don't know what to do
I don't know what to say
I wish I didn't feel this way
But I do

So I wish you well
But I wish I felt well too

"Despair for the Future"

It begins with hope and change
It begins with history
It begins with optimism

But as it moves hope and change
Becomes hatred and stasis
What should be history
Becomes a repeat of the past
What is optimism
Becomes fear of the future

But surely that which is good and decent
Will triumph over the worst impulses of us all
Sadly, trust is misplaced
And we slip into the deep cesspool of negativity

Progress halted by fear of change
A religion based on love is used to inspire hate
People who should be caring for others
Reject those not like them

Privilege and power dominate over hope
Fear of change drives people to vote against themselves
Have we slipped so far that we choose hatred over hope?
Have we slipped so far that we reject the basis of our ideals?

They tell us not to be angry
They tell us that is will be ok
They tell us that we must accept what happened

They refuse to see our anger
They refuse to see our fear
They refuse to see who we are

How can we be one with people who deny who we are?
How can we be one with people who deny our value?
How can we be one with people who clearly hate us?

Yet we must struggle on and not give up
We must persevere in the struggle
We must not give into despair

Knock us down and we will rise stronger
Try and keep us down and we will rise twice as strong
Try and deny us and we will come roaring back

Someday we will
But for now we must come to grips with what has happened
For now we must grapple with the depth of hatred

I look to the future and I weep
I look to the future and also see hope
That is the strange dichotomy of what has happened
It is like a two-edged sword
Which we must swing to cut the oppressors

"Lament for Life"

They fall like rain
Like rain they fall
Bullets, tears, bodies, lives
Spent and used, wasted and discarded

Nice, Orlando, Istanbul, Bangladesh just to name a few
Police killing blacks, police being killed, people killing others
Anger abounding, the cup of anger runneth over

We scream at each other and point the finger at groups
We accuse each other of devaluing life and other people
We use differences to excuse anger, violence, and death

Yet, we are all the same
We are all made of the same stuff
We are made of the stuff that makes the stars
We are made of the stuff that makes the Earth
We are made of the stuff that makes each other

What hurts one, hurts all
What kills one, kills all
Cut us and do we not bleed?
Poison us and do we not die?
Wrong us and do we not seek revenge?

We are being poisoned by a diet of anger and hate
We are being inspired by purveyors of hatred
We look at that which is different and fear it
We see that which is not like us and devalue it

Are we different?
Of course.
Are we all the same?
No, and thank goodness.

It is in our diversity and differences
That our true values shows and shines

We need to lance the boil of hatred
We need to reject the chalice of indifference
We need to show that we love and care for each other

No matter who or what you are
You are loved
You are valued
You are needed
Without you the world is incomplete
Without you the world is missing a piece

Stop the anger, stop the hate
Show that you love each other
Show that each and every life is valuable
Show that everyone is needed

I do not know how many more tears I can cry
I do not know how many more times I can express condolences
I do not know how many more horrible events I can hear about and remain sane

With every incident, it feels like a piece of me dies
With every life that is snuffed out, I am made a little more hollow
With every person that is forced from this earth, I am lessened

With every incident, it feels like a piece of us dies
With every life that is snuffed out, we are made a little more hollow
With every person that is forced from this earth, we are lessened

Every time someone is killed, we are all lessened
Every time someone is taken from us, we suffer that loss
Every time someone destroys a life, we all lose a bit of our humanity.

All I need to know is, when will it all end?

"Solitude"

In a singularity I sit
Nothing comes in or escapes
Yet no one seems to notice
Yet no one seems to care

Screaming unheard
Frantically seeking someone
Arms waving, looking and seeking
Just wanted to be a part of the world

All around people just ignore me
People look but do not see
me in my singularity

Wanting to be a part
Wanting to participate
And when I do
It is all but ignored

Do things matter?
Does anything make a difference?
Am I merely an invisible thing to be used?

Sitting in a box waiting for my chance
My pleas all dismissed as unimportant
Sometimes I must wonder if it is worth it

Am I nothing?
Am I a thing to be ignored?
Or am I a person?

A person who wants to be a part of life
A person who wants to participate
A person who tries to participate
A person sitting in a singularity from which
Nothing can escape