Monday, November 4, 2024

Jesus, Lord, Come This Way

          ,
       
Jesus,  
            Surely you see this mess
            That we are in
            And know the stress
            And its roots in sin,

Is that so?

Jesus,
            You left some lofty place
            That is far beyond my eyes
            To come into this troubled space
            As we head downhill to our own demise,

Is that so?

Jesus,
            You cast your lot with us                                
            You pitched your tent here
            What do you make of all this fuss
            And the people who die year after year

For decades centuries?

Jesus,
            From your other worldly view
            Surely you see Black people lynched
            Dead on arrival at the hospital
            Because a cop’s knee his neck pinched

And drained his life before our eyes?

Jesus,
            Our people are enraged                                             
            Our people are mourning
            As this war is waged
            With plenty of warning.

What about that pain and suffering?

Jesus,
            You walked and traversed
             Lots of miles beneath the sun            
             People saw you and cursed
             At you and the stories you spun

To what ultimate good?

Jesus,
            People who look like me
            Carry guns and offer threats
            Hanging that effigy from that tree
            When said and done, any regrets

By those folks?

Jesus,
            That young man dead
            Hunted like a deer or rabbit
            By men racism inbred
            Hatred their deadly habit.

Is it so?

Jesus,
            If you were to come again                                                    
            And live amongst us once more
            Could we say thank you and amen
            Or would you close the door

Are we too beyond hope?

Jesus,
            You saved her from the religious
            You kept her from dying
            From rocks and the prestigious
            Pompous cruel lots of folks crying.

Do you see the connections?

Jesus,
            You talked to her by the well
            You told the truth about her life
            Racism simply aside fell
            She was not somebody’s wife.

And you forgave her sins?

Jesus,
            You who faced the angry mobs
            Your human body did hang from the tree
            Can you hear our painful sobs
            Do you feel our frequent pleas

For respite from the pain?

Jesus,
            And that gives me hope
            For a brighter day and time
            When no longer is a rope
            A gun a knee the answer until then I’m

Going to pray grieve and shout
Help my corner of the world turn itself around
And know racism and what it’s about
Is just another deadly ungodly sound

That neither you nor I nor them can bear.

Jesus,
            We want to hear
            And live not in fear
            Shedding another one more one more tear
            While on this planet rear

Our children.

Jesus,
            Save us we plead
            We have made the world a mess
            Our hateful selfish harmful evil deed
            Racism our greatest sin we do confess.

Jesus, 
            And one more thing before I go
            It's surely something you already know
            This land of ours is about to decide
            That one person might heal our divide

But I'm not so sure. 

Jesus, 
            Some have seemingly sold their souls
            To the white guy with his talk and curses real loud
            While she speaks words of joy and points up ahead
            She prays, sings, and laughs as we hold on by a thread.

Jesus, 
            And so it is done, and tears fill our eyes.
            America has made her choice.
            Character no longer matters to those who have a voice
            And the crooked guy takes the prize with all his lies. 

So I linger in deferred hope for this land. 
           
Jesus,
            Please forgive
            Please forgive
            Please forgive
            Please forgive
           

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