Courage to stand and speak truth

To power that has the power to speak lies

Lies within a heart of love for neighbor over self

 

All those who speak have God’s image

And God with the most power

Speaks truth to those he calls his neighbors

To those he died for

 

So we speak like a man with a dream

Not one that passes when we

Rub the sleep out of our eyes

But one eternal dream

 

A never-fading, always real dream

That all men are created equal

Not by man’s spoken word

But by God’s*

 

This day sings a freedom song

Muted by ears not hearing

Let us see and hear

The forgotten song

 

Broken are the chains

Though hearts still remain

Unbroken, unable to love,

Unwilling to sing

 

Closer now we stand to abolition

Of division and opression

If we sing with amplification

“God heal us!”

 

*This poem includes additional stanzas added for Juneteenth. It was originally published for MLK Day, 2020 at For The Church. You can read the original here.

Catch your breath

on the wind –

let heaven fill

your lungs with hope –

not fear.

And form your lips

to the shape of praise –

broken and bleeding,

torn by the air

but still singing.

All those who knew You

Didn’t know You

Would die and rise

You who knew

All their thoughts

They still forgot

And I with them

But You remember

And You died still

And You rose still

For us