After the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas last week, I was grieved. It was a horrible tragedy and it was reacted to poorly by politicians and those driven by fear and anger. I wrote this poem. I didn’t intend it as a political statement, though some may read it that way. It truly is the expression of a heart that breaks with what I hope is the love of Jesus.
THE GREATEST SIN
“This is my body,
It is my right”
Voices muddled through
womb’s walls
Sitting in darkness
While waiting my time to live
I’m not clinging to rights
But to my human desires
to be held and touched
caressed and told,
“We gladly give up our rights
for the likes of you.”
Alas, my sin is too great
Worthy of destruction
Revealed by the anger
A line’s been crossed
I cannot belong
Just intruding and interrupting
Creating too many questions
Too much discomfort
Oh my sin
Too great to forgive
What is my sin?
It is innocence
“This is my gun,
It is my right.”
Shouted before tears
hit the ground
Only muted through
tomb’s walls
Tasting this life
Just not enough
Wanting to laugh and learn
Fall and stand and run some more
Longing to hear
“We give up our right
to fear and vengeance and
we live for redemption and hope.”
But my sin has made me
an enemy
The price too high
I don’t belong
an intruder and irritant
Here I’ll lay and find my rest
because my sin
Too great to forgive
What is my sin?
It is innocence
Epitaph: “A violent people once lived here, wherein the greatest sin was innocence.”
At some point, we have to see that we are a people who cling to violence as the answer to our problems. And it is killing our children.
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” – Matthew 19:14-15
Your poem is heart breaking and profound. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Thank you, Barbara.