Melt our Hearts Prayer

CW: war and violence

Good God who is glorious, generous
full of bounty, food and other good things

I feel too exhausted to pray
about pieces of metal
that explode into
messes of blood
tragedy
and annihlation

As the weeping of babies
across oceans
haunt my dreams at night
and the artwork of Banksy
decorates the walls,
the walls of hate

My words seem like a meager choice
the cry of Peace
while those with nothing are crying
in war

Who will share this burden?
The prophets cry

And the artists will paint
with their tears

Call your Congressperson
I pray

Do not tell the story of the downtrodden:
the Palestinian Christian,
the hungry senior citizen
the beaten Black Lives Matter Activist
the forgotten Trans Teen
the shot kindergartener
Do not tell the story after the tragedy has happened

God
I am so tired of praying
about pieces of metal
empty of bullets
emptying lives
emptying souls

Teach me another prayer
Teach me the prayer of
Peace
Because

Because
I am all too familiar with the vocabulary of hate
it contains words like
animals
revenge
and dehumanization

Reteach me the
languages of love
teach me the
me the lexicon of
humanization

Melt our hearts
our weapons
our souls
into another shape
I pray.
Amen.

Feel Free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “Katyandtheword”

Pieces

Peace
Means wholeness
When no one
Is looking
For pieces
Of houses
Bodies
Or family
…….Members
Any
For
Ever
…. More Peace
And War Taught
Know
Told
Learnt
No
….Pieces of
My Heart
Lay Shattered
On the floor
I don’t
Have the
Energy
To pick
Them up

Puzzling out
Peace

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy “Katyandtheword”

How do we Pray for Peace? Prayer

God
We admit
Confess really

That we do not know how to pray for peace.
We want it to be a magic incantation.

One where we have picked the right side.
So peace happens

There you go God
the mystery of Shalom-Salaam is solved.

But Salaam-Shalom isn’t about sides,
You can’t take the word apart like that
You cannot take the world apart like that

These things are not meant to be broken

There are no sides to peace

Shalom-Salaam
the mystery of wholeness, health
hospitality, healing
peace

No wonder peace is
Created
Constructed
Made

It took a Carpenter-
Or at least someone who worked with their hands
to teach us that.

Blessed are the
Builders of Peace
For they Shall Be
Called.Invited.Named.
Children.Having the Nature of.Inheritors of
God
Allah
Yhwh

Salaam-Shalom (Have I said the spell enough yet, God??)

Our tongues ache
From the words of war
(revenge)

And we know
That we have
Taught it

My soul aches
to teach war
No more
no more
no more

Shalom-Salaam

Teach me
to sit with peace
To hammer
weapons into
Planting tools

Teach me
how find the broken pieces
to plant
And to mend
To nurture
And to tend

To sow
Until we find the wholeness
teach us the mystery of this binding

Salaam-Shalom,
Us
Because we Do Not Know How
And none of Us can do it alone
Salaam-Shalom us,
We Pray.

Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/Share with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord.com”

Banksy Dove with a Bulletproof Vest https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2022/08/05/banskys-west-bank-dove-and-the-palestinian-shopowner-who-met-the-elusive-artist/

Children

CW: Israel/Palestine

Child

How to define
Not an adult
magical being
inspirer of future
bringer of now
takes their sweet time
so meone who should still believe
one who fears scary things
leader to heaven
welcomer
noticer of small things
laughter that bears fairies
wishie-blower
always in a hurry
bearer of peace
own self
right to be

When I was in
Israel & Palestine

Both times
Children ran around me
Giggling, playing chase
speaking a language I didn’t know

I sighed

despite all the propaganda
water shortages
talk of building permits
and guns

I breathed in
and out
in hope

because
the
Children
were
and
are
children
everywhere

Do you see
the
children?

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta KatyandtheWord

Humanizing

What is a human
I ask God
in the dark
World weary
of talking points
explanations
and words
…………….words
………………….words

What exactly
is this human being thing?

I wonder? Trying not to count
the bombs going off–
Way worse than the second between
Thunder
……….and lightening

And the latest government crises
does not even deign to mention
hungering children
…………or elderly

And my trans friend cries
a little bit
and my child whispers
and their abused peer
who they called CPS about
to no avail

What is being
the stars glimmer back at me
and I try to catch their twinkles
and remember the taste of tea
the sigh at the end of good book
the snuggles of my kitty cats when I am sad

Children
I am always
Forever
Blessed by the magic
that are children

Human
why define?

I think as
I talk to myself
and remember

Re-Peopling the world
Over and Over again
without conditionals
just Peopling
Because every single
Person
Counts

Being
Human

Human
Being

Humans
Being
Human

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Katy Stenta Katyandtheword