by Chris McDonnell
Pray Tell has as its subtitle “Worship, wit and wisdom.” In the light of the ever increasing loss of life in Gaza, I thought a post calling attention to this conflict would be in order. It is my prayer that in our wisdom we may pursue every avenue to bring to a halt this terrible conflict, which affects many families who have no direct part in it?
Our prayer and liturgical celebrations cannot ignore the pain that is currently being experienced by Christians in the Middle East.
No, it won’t do*
No, it won’t do
to claim that dwellings
hide the threat of fire,
or a hospital
the resting place
for lethal activity
that must be subdued,
or a family
when told to leave didn’t,
couldn’t,
for there was nowhere else
to go.
No,
it will not do,
as smoke clouds rise
above the rubble
of city streets,
lit red with the flash
of in-coming shells.
Amid this rumbling roar
of attrition, comes
a wailing siren-scream
as casualties are lifted
from the gathered dust
and broken-hearted Mothers
weep for their children,
held lifeless,
in their outstretched arms.
No,
it will not do.
It will not do,
neither this week
nor next month,
for life to be lost
through the intransigence
of stubborn men,
repaying anger
with
further anger,
losing sight
of the final cost.
There on a narrow,
coastal strip of land
caught
between hot desert sand
and cooling sea,
cries conscience.
No,
it will not do.
*“No, it won’t do….”
The opening line of Theodicy,
Czeslaw Milosz : pg 445 Collected Poems: 1931- 2001
Chris McDonnell is a regular reader and commenter at Pray Tell Blog.
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