Look over your shoulder
And you will see
Threads intricately woven
Into a tapestry
Of color, light, and shadow
A trail behind you
That brought you
To this day
Look ahead
With faith and hope
That this woven fabric
Will continue throughout
The rest of your life
See the faint glimmer
Of golden threads
Dream and plan
Then bravely make
That next step
Along the path
You are already on
With the surge in mass shootings and other forms of violence that have left families and communities broken hearted and grieving I offer this poem.
Thoughts and Prayers
No thank you
If you mean
That you are off the hook
For doing anything good
To stop this violence
No thank you
If you mean
You can let another
Year go by without
Courageously
Tackling this issue
Of gun violence
Unless you mean
The kind of prayer
Where you think and dream
With the Divine
A new path forward
Where you roll up your sleeves
And get to work
To put that new plan
Into effect
If you mean the kind of prayer
That looks first into your own heart
To see if you are complicit
In anyway to this violence
By turning your back
On those who are grieving
Their loved ones gunned
Down before their time
If you mean the kind of prayer
Where you call out to God
For mercy and forgiveness
And commit yourself
To work, to change
To make this world
Become like your prayers
If you mean
These kinds of prayers
Then yes, please
Think and pray
Roll up your sleeves
And be part of the
Answer to your prayers.
© 2023 Julie Clark
(Every now and then I have a dream that really sticks to me. I sense there is a message for me. In my dream I am cleaning my friend’s mountain house. We are leaving and she and her family are on their way. They arrive before we are finished. I keep cleaning. She says to me “I have something for you”. I have to stop cleaning to receive the gift she has for me. It is a beautiful bracelet.)
Sometimes we have to stop
To stop being useful
To receive the gift
The gift of being
Truly loved
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