Need
“I decided that I was supposed to be here
to catch some of the stones people cast at each other.” –from Just Mercy
This quarry world needs stonecatchers
because rocks come from everywhere—
the complicit well-intentioned
the misusers of the flag, praying to a god of nationalism
the government, elected to help, yet in bed with greed,
sometimes our very selves
Every news cycle lands a million hits.
We read the news like Giles Corey calling for more weight.
Let the modern Giles go from more weight to knowing more to
More? Wait. to
Wait. No more!
When Jesus told any who were blameless to cast the first stone,
they knew to walk away. What would America do?
We might be too busy admiring how bulked up our throwing arm has become,
checking out that tone, picking up any stone we can hurl
in the name of superiority. Any rock will do—
igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic. May metamorphosis lead us
to intercept the rocks used to build systems that destroy humans.
Make no mistake. Stonecatching will bruise you
so that other people may heal.
2 thoughts on "Need"
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I love the idea of stonecatchers! What a tremendously hard job, but I thank those who do! Love the line about how our throwing arm has bulked up. So true. Wonderful closure.
Wow. I love the form and word choice to this.