If His name
hallows
Between pews
at Red Fork Baptist
In Tulsa
reverberates
Within Prince of Peace Lutheran
in Springfield
Is held out
as a sign of hospitality
By the ministry
of Paradise Valley United Methodist
In the Arizona desert
gets uttered
In new forms in Anaheim
where Unitarian Universalists
All stand for Love
comforts silent monks
Of the Buddhist Bhavana Society
who chant in Pali
Four hours southwest
of Pittsburgh, in West Virginia
Centers worship by Friends
at the Meeting House
In downtown Baltimore
gathers the Catholic faithful
At His table in the Shrine
of the Immaculate Conception
In Washington, D.C.
and is spoken
In Spanish at Trinity Episcopal
in Iowa City
If masjid for mosque literally
means "place of prostration"
For Muslims who revere Mary
Mother of God
And mention the name Jesus
25 times in their Holy Qur'an
Then who, if not we,
extends the olive branch
Whispers Peace be with you
and breaks bread
Across the divide?
© 2010 Maureen E. Doallas. All Rights Reserved.
___________________________
I posted this poem for One Stop Poetry, which weekly sponsors "One Shot Wednesday", an event for which poets write and post to their blogs an original poem, in any form, and then share it with the One Stop writing community.
Go here for details and then go write a poem.
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17 comments:
if we do not offer our hand and love then we are hypocrites!!!
This is why we need poems and poets my dear.
A One Shot hit
moon smiles
well done, love the olive branch symbol - ah what are we afraid of "you .. of little faith"? ..bkm
Rich and insightful. A beautiful vision and challenge. - Bill
an excellent poignant poem...religeon can be so devisive for something so grounded in love...nice oneshot!
deep write..i like it :) thought provoking..nice!!!
Your poem inspires the thought of respectful peace to be with everyone. Great poetry!
never easy to write a poem that makes a point, but you have-- moves like a meditation, drawing one in. Such a thorny issue... xj
i could not agree with you more!..a good poem for one shot that i hope reaches out to the world we are trying to capture through our verse..thanks pete
some provoking thoughts - in particular the last line - whispers peace with you and breaks bread across the divide...
Peace be with you and you and you and me.
Very profound Maureen.
Amen! And everyday I say to myself - we are here, not somewhere else. We are here where law stands for justice and we are here where troubled persecuted pioneers came for freedom. When did we decide we couldn't extend it to others?
Well written and powerful. Thank you.
I enjoyed this. And it reminds that the intention is quite often so far from the reality, sadly.
The final image is challenging. I wish we even knew what it looked like to break bread across the divide.
I wish we knew how to whisper peace in a way that was more than empty words.
Love the beautiful unity of this piece.
And poetry is the perfect hand with which to extend the olive branch. It offers such universal truths and joys, and carries no hidden weapons. Excellent piece.
A fantastic poem on a pressing topic, Maureen! I love it's specificity--a roll call of religions and locales. And it's message is so important! Thanks so much for sharing!
love this...a great topic too:)
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