“No Love Dying Here”
Oppression, human rights, violence, racism, antisemitism,
Judaism, Unitarian Universalism, and all the other ism’s that come to mind.
Important words for sure, but not in this place and not in this moment.
In this place and in this moment, let us hold the child’s eye.
Let it be crystal clear that there will be no love dying here.
Let us move inside the child’s eye for just a moment.
All those important words be damned, there will be no love dying here.
You can name the places, the towns, the provinces, the countries, the borders.
Where beloved people are dying, where parched hearts prevail.
But not now, not in this place and not in this moment.
Let’s be crystal clear, there will be no love dying here.
Here is also beyond this place, it is inside of me, next to my adult prying eyes,
Inside my adult thinking skull, alongside my adult, adroit trigger finger,
Encased within my adult strategic anatomy.
Let our adult self, bow to the moment and to the place of the child’s eye,
Confused, pleading, puzzled and watery, so beyond dry.
Asking in all languages known and unknown, one question…Why?
Let us wrap ourselves in this forever why.
For just a moment, before the important words return.
To take over and force us to take cover.
For just a moment, in this place, please my dear,
In this place, let us shout out together.
There will be no love dying here.

Rev. Anthony Mtuaswa Johnson