THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
Unless we feel, we fail
to remember.
Those killed in war
become just names or numbers.
And those who took their lives
by choice?
Additional numbers.
Or those who took the paths
of least resistance?
More numbers.
If we believe Erasmus,
the world is ruled by folly.
What passes for honor is folly.
Statues commemorate the least
noble.
The infamous and wealthy
are known eternally by name.
Assassins and saints are buried
alike in cemeteries groomed
like gardens.
The folly of faith
without love or action sullies
what passes for religion.
Entrepreneurs
and men of state confirm
Erasmus as a prophet…
It takes
a rebel, often a woman,
to choose the option of fools
and live for others.
Folly
has no defense.
By feeling
what she means and loving how
she lives, she cares for what
is overlooked or lost
and makes what’s lasting last.
For Janine Bayer