Lord Help Us

Dear Lord, you know me inside out,
and love me — warts and all.
You’re always there to comfort me
and catch me when I fall.

I worship you with all I have,
but sometimes, just the same,
it’s hard to comprehend some acts
committed in your name.

For where is love reflected
in a history that tells
how radical Crusaders slaughtered
countless “infidels”?

Such hatred, even to this day,
is hard to understand,
as churches preach less tolerance
than shown at Disneyland.

Oh please, before I close my fist
to cast a hurtful stone,
impress upon my foolish heart
that judgment’s yours alone.

Protect me from your followers,
the holier-than-thous
who claim the inside track on knowing
what “God’s Will” allows,

As each of us alone must answer
for the things we do
that cause another soul to stumble
on the path to You.

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1997 Mary Boren
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Photo Source

Find Something to Like

holding hands

I’m weary of the angry crowd
that shouts its do-not-likes out loud
because the message always seems
to be expressed in taunts and screams.

I’d much prefer to live in peace
as global citizens release
their hatred for the other side
and blazon blessings far and wide.

For whether we agree or not
in every case of what is what,
we surely know that fury’s sound
won’t lead us onto common ground.

An open mind and loving heart
encourages the waves to part.
We’re in the boat together here —
let’s grab an oar and lend an ear.

———

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2013 Mary Boren
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Tolerance Test

bizarre

Each time the social pendulum is swung,
it arcs to an unprecedented range,
exposing our capacity for strange
or violent behavior. Of the two,
I’d rather have a neighbor who’s bizarre.
Refusing to conform can raise the bar
of common thought, and progress that is sprung
from pain deserves an analytic view.

When freedom of expression is suppressed
by puppeteers, the panic-stricken horde
delights in wielding judgment like a sword,
resulting in a system that prevails.
If tyranny’s unchallenged, then the spark
of rarity is scuttled to the dark
where hatred flourishes. The world is blessed
by dissidents who kick against the rails.

———

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2013 Mary Boren
View discussion.