I was at a loss for what to write for today, but then I read the prompt over at dVerse Poets Pub. It’s one I had read before at Kellie Elmore’s website. The prompt is to write about a taboo subject – examples given being sex, politics, and religion – and to not hold back on what you would say. I started to write a poem today is about my faith in the One Way to know God, I even wrote three stanzas, and then I took a break to get in the shower. While I showered I realized this poem was too generic and then thought of another poem, one that is taboo because it not only addresses my faith in Jesus but involves a real person who has been offended by my faith.
Offended
I watched on the small TV screen
(thankful now I didn’t own a big screen)
as the planes hit the towers
smoke and flames rising
And though it was 3,000 miles away
it was my country under attack
I was in shock
not knowing what to do
so I did all I could
I offered a prayer
typed in an email:
I prayed for the dead
and the dying.
The living who knew the dead.
For the rescue workers
and the cleanup crews.
For our nation to survive
and to heal.
For those who attacked us
even for them.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
I hit send
I felt some peace
My phone rang
“This is Linda Kruschke, may I help you?”
I managed to say
“Hon,” I hear her say,
“I thought we agreed
you wouldn’t send forwards
like this to me?”
How did I reply?
I don’t recall exactly
I was stunned
The shock was almost as great
as when I saw the towers fall
She was offended
by my heartfelt prayer
because it was
in the name above all names
my sweet Jesus
in whom I trust
You see, she doesn’t believe
the same as I believe
It is to the goddess that she prays
Her and her coven lift their prayers
to mother earth
I do not judge her
That is God’s province
But I do not hide what I believe
I am who I am in Christ
But she has judged me
Intolerant and offensive
As if I’m the Westboro Baptist Church
spewing hatred wherever I go
She is my friend
I love her dearly
Her beliefs do not offend me
even if I do not agree
She is my friend
But if I must choose
between offending her
and denying my Savior
sadly I will offend
though I do not mean to
I only want to share His love
People were dead and dying
just as they are every day
Our nation was in need of healing
just as it is today
And she was offended
by the name of Jesus
Tears flow as I think of
the years we have been friends
I don’t know if I
am still a friend in her mind
She remains a friend in my heart
even as it breaks at the thought
that she is lost in her self-centered pride
and is offended
by the only Name that can save