Dear Emperor

Dear emperor,

over-feathered bird,

primping, preening, posing,

you have not distracted us enough.

Pointing a frenzied finger

at imagined monsters,

you have failed to frighten us

of the right things.

Demeaning the people,

denouncing their voices,

parodying the cry of the poor

and the caution of the wise,

you have peddled despair,

but alas,

we are still here, still healing.

You have not set us free from God.

You have not relieved us of the burden

of our passion for justice.

You have not cured us of our hope.

Even now—amazing!—we are singing.

~Rev. Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light