Table

Violence begets violence,

and those who’ve perpetrated it

in the name of decency and order

seldom have grounds to call

for its end when it erupts,

as rage-response, in chaos.

Artwork by Sara Wills

The call for alternative acts

of peaceful demonstrations

must come from underneath:

a prophetic imagining that paints

a picture of hope with voice enough

to call us all back to the table,

where we must share the meal

of our common humanity.

Without this unifying thread

on which to weave our dreams,

the fire will consume us all.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins