Luke 10:25-37
Are we the priest, passing by
on the other side of the road
or are we the Levite, passing by
on the other side of the road
or are we the Samaritan,
stopping to help and heal
do we see our neighbor among the victims,
do we feel
love for the beaten,
the robbed,
the tired,
the hungry,
the poor?
Or are we with the mob
paying for the war
and locking every door
and shouting ‘do not trespass’
as we throw stones
from our glass houses
do we break the silence
or are we just church mice
humanity’s lice,
biting our tongues
as the world is doused in gasoline
are we with
our neighbor,
or are we with
the machine
ignoring the unseen,
the dead and the dying
we’re lying to ourselves
if we think our hands are clean
at least the priest and Levite
didn’t beat and steal from the man
but us?
we take the other side of the road
and wash the blood off our hands
because Uncle Sam demands
that we not only ignore our neighbors
but we kill them too
so the red, white, and blue
won’t get any of my bread
until every last one
of my neighbors is fed
and every last sword
is turned to a plowshare
until every last passerby
does more than stare
as the bodies pile up
along the side of the road
from Jerusalem to Jericho.
soitgoes1984 