A Different Kind of War

Perhaps it was not the victory we imagined,
the belief that people matter simply because
they are God’s children. That souls mattered
more than color or sex or any other marker we choose.

Perhaps we imagined the steps made
were steps conquered, written in stone
like Moses’ commandments, progress made,
to build on, a world where love made more sense
than anger and separation and warfare
between the broken and the one who do not know
they are broken.

Perhaps we did not realize today’s victory
is only today’s, new territory that needs defending
every day, that the devil does not rest in his determining
lies of separation and division. And so perhaps
it is time to take up the tattered banner one more time
and remember love is not a passive thing,
only a different kind of war, only victorious
when carried into battle again and again and always again.

About this poem

Inspired by the photograph above, which was taken in our church attic a week or so ago. Those of us who believe, really believe in equal rights and inclusivity have been shell shocked by the loss of rights that have become more and more normal in the world today. It’s time to gather our flags and wage the war for love anew. And make no mistake, it is a war between love and hate, love and neglect before it is anything else.

Off my soapbox. But only for now.

Tom