why can’t you be?
Written by athada : April 1, 2008
it doesn’t seem like such a gap
between you and me
just the mere span of this executive desk
these religious symbols and verses
these khakis
this gainful and sufficient employment
this swivel chair and computer and phone and fax
it doesn’t have to be
please
stop smoking
stop drinking
stop stripping
stop hitting your girlfriend
learn English
kill your TV
please, save $20 this month
for god’s sake, please put your kid in school
and then “hello, how was your day?” when he gets home
stop mooching
stop pleading
stop lying
stop treating me like a white god of trinkets
I am not your genie
please stop with the broken English
stop with the ignorance
stop with the lottery and polar pops and cigarettes
you are killing yourself
you are sucking me dry
please
maybe if you had learned to read
if your mother had read to you
if your brother didn’t get shot
if your father hadn’t left you
if your grandfather had the right to vote
if your uncle had legal documents
if your teacher had inspired you
if you had been born with a higher IQ
if you had gotten that scholarship
if you knew how to turn on a computer
if your skin was just a bit lighter
if you didn’t speak with an accent
if God or fate or a cosmic blip had favored you just a bit more
maybe your problems would be solved
maybe you’d be a friend instead of a client
maybe you’d be just like me
Author Bio:
for further reading . . .
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Christarchy! is a growing network of small groups for people who want to put the ethical teachings of Jesus into practice.
Submergent is a network of leaders who, embracing the Anabaptist impulse, are living into the Kingdom of God in a postmodern, post-colonial, post-Christian world. Together, we will re-baptize the Christian imagination!
Anchored in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis, Missio Dei is committed to following Jesus' way of peace, simplicity, prayer, and hospitality.
The Missio Dei Breviary includes morning and evening prayers for one month. Edited (and freely shared) by Missio Dei, it draws primarily upon the Gospels, reflects Anabaptist convictions, and emphasizes missional commitment.
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