Mere Mortals All

Biblical villains

resurrected

Attack my heritage

Shatter my safety

Gathered loved ones

reciting prayers

provide comfort

in the face of war

Heal wounds

inflicted by insidious ideas

Familiar blessings

sung in unison

welcome me

Connect me

to ancient rituals

Centuries of tradition

celebrate determination

Enslaved, oppressed people

persevere in faith

Prayers in every language

in every form

unite and divide

Ideology fuels boundary wars

Oppression, murder

Blinding followers to each others humanity

Love and compassion

warm every human heart

Hate and evil

tear us apart

Infinitesimal,

mere mortals all

The search for truth

is ongoing

We are one

in our common ignorance

April 2024

The Seven Generations Principle (Haudenosaunee’s Law) *

In the stillness

of a zen garden

lies

a seven generation portal

Centuries

of hate

reverberate

Persecuted

oppressed jews

Segregated in shtetls

envision freedom

raise revolutionaries

Centuries of hate

anticipate

Prosperity bequeathed

seven generations

taken for granted

Unspeakable violence

Shatters complacency

Awakens vulnerability

Centuries of hate germinate

Threads of hope

ribbons of strength

pulled through time

seven generations

Woven into the future, knotted with peace

Centuries of hate reverberate

Centuries of love heal

*The Seventh Generation Principle is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future.