New Friends
I heard a poem,
From a new friend,
A friend in need,
Calling,
In desperation of want,
A desire to be heard,
Lean in,
Listen,
Learn,
A black brother,
Who has a son,
One,
Who is a child of God,
Who sees oppression,
Who, when he hears his father,
Knows that he is a king,
Who has a smile of gold,
And, a crown of glory,
A good father,
A loving father,
When I lean in,
Listen,
Learn,
I hear,
To first repent,
Turn around,
And, believe,
In Christ,
Not by words,
Not by “checking that verbal box”,
Not by intellectual ascent,
But, investment,
Totality of faith,
Body, mind and soul commitment,
All in with Christ,
His words not mine,
For it is by Christ alone,
Through Christ alone,
That Christ,
Moving in,
Moving through,
And, then expressed,
Genuinely,
With eyes that see,
Ears that hear,
And, lame feet that move,
Forward,
Can begin to express,
Can begin to establish,
The Kingdom of God on earth,
As it is in heaven,
It begins,
With Christ,
It begins,
In conversation,
With a new friend,
Bound together in Christ,
I love my new friend!
Peter Lowell Paulson
September 26, 2020
