like a bird in the spring
reflection in glass
maddeningly slamming into over and over
the words behind the pane
if i can just smash one more time
this absurd barrier of glass
will move
and i will write again
but all i am doing now
is battering my brain
textbook illustration
defining insanity
one mangled wing at a time
It doesn’t get easier. Mostly, you just feel numb. But sometimes, it gets down deep enough, to the root of the pain as you heard the news, as you knew there was no going back, and all you can do is beat your breast and weep and scream. These memories of the Days Before are torturous as you wish you could have seen it more clearly, heard it for what it was, somehow slammed on the brakes to buy another few minutes. If only. I’m still broken, angry, bitterly disappointed and forever different. I guess we all are. These days might do us all in. I’m glad we can be together.
OH, SO IT’S NOT CORPORATE OUTSOURCING OF PRACTICALLY EVERY MAJOR MANUFACTURING AND TELECOM JOB IN THE COUNTRY THAT’S GUTTED US ECONOMICALLY BUT IMMIGRATION? IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE SAYING? YOU HAD A BRIGHT FUTURE PICKING VEGETABLES FOR $3 AN HOUR ALL LINED UP? WE’RE A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS. IMMIGRANTS BUILT OUR COUNTRY. YOU’RE IRISH FOR CHRIST’S SAKE.
I’M JUST SAYING IT’S ALL SOCIALIST OR SOMETHING. I SAW IT ON A NEWS SHOW. WE GOT TO KEEP THESE PEOPLE FROM BECOMING CITIZENS. IF WE LET THE MEXICANS AND THE WHOEVERS COME OVER AND TAKE OUR JOBS WE WON’T HAVE NO MORE JOBS FOR HARDWORKING AMERIC- HEY! JESSE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
KILLING MYSELF, LENNY. KILLING MYSELF SO I DON’T HAVE TO TALK TO YOU ANYMORE. GOODBYE.
at motivates me to write this is that I care about the future of the United States of America and I care about her citizens, whether they voted for Obama or McCain. Hell, I care about the people who voted for Bush in 2004. One big lie the media and the government pushes on us is that we’re different from each other. Fuck that. The lady in Pennsylvania who voted for McCain hugs her kid with the same love the guy in North Carolina who voted for Obama hugs his. What do we all want? Health, safety, and the tools to prosper.
| — | Lewis, The Last Battle |
John lamented, “That’s when I saw what racism had done to whites and blacks. I saw the equality of the sin, and the effect of the sin upon us.”
Equality of sin?
His insight was chilling. Sin, the enemy of love, shows no deference to race or class or privilege. It simply wreaks havoc in the lives of all those who are beloved by God.
I won’t lie. It sort of pissed me off that sin could possibly have a leg up on kingdom righteousness when it comes to equality. If you’re anything like me, that sobering news either makes you want to throw in the towel or it ticks you off so much you want to kick sin’s butt. So after you grieve with me the bitter reality and far-reaching grip of the death-dealing power of sin, choose wisely.
| — |
-Margot Starbuck, on John Perkins, racism, sin and the Kingdom of God www.redletterchristians.org/the-equality-of-sin-that-is-killing-us-all |
