Gentle Reader,
So many ways to go with this prompt of Kate’s. Listen. A recent experience results in this.
Go.
Do you hear the sound?
Pulsing, pounding, vibrating ’round?
Can you feel it, ‘neath your feet?
Sense it moving, creeping, clapping beat?
Not with eyes is reverberation spied
But with ears, open, open wide
An ache that words cannot express
A sigh too deep, the story repress
A meaning couched behind the words
Fleeting, fast as hummingbirds
More than what is said, down to what is felt
To beliefs, to core, to wounds’ harsh welt
To quesitons, to self-sense, to space
To wondering if there is a thing called grace
Do you hear the sound?
Of people longing, straining, bound?
Of souls in need of strong embrace
To know the God who can outpace
All lies, all hurt, all vision wrecked
The injured ones, He does collect
The ones who huddled in cars sleep
The ones over lost children weep
The ones whose bodies are bruised and black
The ones who know they can never go back
Do we see what God sees, hear what He hears?
Or are we wrapped up in vanishing dears –
The things we hold so close, so safe
No matter how the weight does chafe
The skin of hands held to tight
Hands that were made to spread His light
Do we stop, or do we walk on by?
Do we leave them alone, left to cry?
Left to wonder if anyone cares
Left to wonder if He knows their hairs
Do you hear the sound?
Of opportunities abound?
Or do you sit up in your tower,
Behind your reasons cower?
Stop.
How do we treat those who are different from us? Different life experiences, different views, different choices. Today I was reminded of the vital nature of looking beyond the surface. Of not assuming.
People are people, whoever they are, and all deserve to be treated with compassion.
