Christmas Wish

Pretty presents

Faces glow

Decorations

Falling snow

Being good

Is every little boy’s

Solemn goal

Being sweet

Every little girl’s

Ultimate dream

Have a party

Invite your friends

Make merry and drink a toast

To a wonderful year

Call your mom

And visit your Dad

Make a pie

And then a ham

Cool it well

Eat before it gets cold.

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Journey of Comfort

Black dots scattered in the air,

Above my head, folding in.

Red pieces of clay, stuck to my shoe,

Covering footprints, hovering around me.

I want to go on a journey,

Without leaving home,

Without sacrificing what is familiar to me.

I want to meet you

In a jungle, beside a river,

Closing my hands together,

Above a campfire, singing

Familiar words

To a familiar tune.

Freedom is my goal, but

Comfort is my preoccupation.

Can I have one,

Without losing the other?

Mercy

Dark splats cover the head,

Driven insane by death and doubt.

Blood drips from heavy hands,

Weighed down by worry and despair.

A coat lays on the shoulders

Of a man trapped in a recording

That repeats over and over again.

There is no escape for an obsessed man.

Polite words crawl out of his mouth.

He is eager to please, eager to end

The shameful suffering of those

Cooped up inside the temple.

Where can we go? They cry.

When will it all end? They whisper.

To submerge in the holy water

Is the dream of my home,

And of my people.

To be washed clean

Of this heaviness,

Of this trauma,

Of this unclean spirit.

Free me now!

Have mercy!

Please, have mercy.