#8

Come, my children, and go with me
Past the parking lots, playgrounds, and auditoriums half paid-off
South, deep south, and still north of South
To where a crumpled body lies
Waters black dirt with red life.

Soak your shoulder with
Your hermanito’s tears, and tell him
His mother’s purpose-driven life
Was worth it.

Take the little one in your arms
And sing him to sleep so
He won’t realize
The loss of a Mama-breathed lullaby.

Cry with my sister-
Little one with eyes so black and bruised
On the inside;
Mingle your tears close enough to feel
The shake of her skinny frame
So full of why.

Padre nuestro, que estas en los cielos
Be Father ours, and Madre theirs, too

* * * *

We travel on
We witness more
Open your eyes
On this family tour

* * * *

Kneel; get down
To where it hurts your knees.
Hard cold concrete
On an empty stomach:
North of Parallel prayer-meeting.

Can you speak?
Maybe if you started Handel’s chorus,
You would hear a duet
(Plus the angels.)

But will my knees bend down so low?
(What if it’s dirty?)
Could I pray without shame
Beside my brother’s prostrate pleas and praise?
Could I say, “Amen,
Let Thy Will be done,”
Knowing “Thy Will” might
Spill my or his blood?

Can I understand Your servant’s soul
Counting all things loss
But gaining oh gaining Christ-
Drinking deep down together
With You
Of Your cup of sufferings:
A communion beyond grape juice?

* * * *

We travel on
We witness more
Open your eyes
On this family tour

* * * *

My sister teaches Sunday School
From within a lime-green veil
She bought with her wages
Earned forming bricks
From mud
Day after day after day.

She has no mother
(anymore)
She has no father
(anymore);
She is an Unbeliever,
A Blasphemer,
And Damned
For drinking

Living Water.

Her creed is:
I believe in God
and in His Angels
and in His Scriptures
and in His Messengers
and in The Final Day
and Resurrection after death
and I testify that there is no god but God.

(Amen.)
No, wait...
She’s not done.

And

I testify that Jesus is His final Word.

Image of the invisible God
Firstborn over all Creation
Conceived of the Holy Spirit
Born of a virgin

The Son of God.

The Son of Man.

Suffered under Pontius Pilate
Was crucified
Dead
And buried

Raised after three days
Ascended into heaven
Where He sits at God’s right hand.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

In the name of the Father,
the Son
and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

(Now, she’s done.)

* * * *

Neither bone of my bone
Nor flesh of my flesh
But

One body
One Spirit
One baptism

This is your brother
(Do you know him?)
Son of your father
(Do you serve Him?)
Really?
Really?

“Just and true are Your ways”
Can you say?
“Blood of the lamb”
(The what of the Lamb?!)
“The Word of their testimony”
(You mean, quite literally?!)
“For they loved not their lives unto death”
(You either?!)

They shall hunger no more
(But woe to you who are full!)
Neither thirst any more
(Blessed- they shall be filled)
Neither shall the sun burn them, nor any heat
(When one part of the Body…)

For the Lamb
(…Suffers, they whole Body suffers)
Which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them
(But woe to you who are already full!)
And shall lead them
(Blessed- they shall be filled)
Unto living fountains of waters
(Blessed- they shall be comforted)
And God shall wipe away
(But woe unto you who now laugh!)
All tears
(when one part of the Body suffers…)
From their eyes
(the
whole
body
suffers.)