Protection

From all of the things we believe

will protect us from all of the things

we believe we need protecting from;

from words fired as missiles

in retaliation against an imagined army

with real soldiers aiming

betrayals, shame, and guilt our way;

from walls, fences, locked doors,

and alarm systems we believe

will protect us from the inhumanity

of creatures whose hope has been

so torched by the steeply stacked deck

of status quo that our possessions

are valued above our connection;

from unspeakable and escalating violence

that pocks the earth with its meteoric craters

in our attempt to force peace

upon a sea tossed by the roar

of words aimed past each other;

from a constant segmenting and scheduling

of time and busyness that stealthily disappear

like water past a leaky toilet valve;

from worrying so much about

what might happen tomorrow

that  joy cannot be released

from the prison cell 

of today's safety deposit box;

from ego that pairs selective amnesia

and imagined omniscience to propel

self to a number-one draft pick

in a game whose championship

is actually an infinite grace-fest;

protect us, O Lord!

© 2013 Todd Jenkins