I Will Not March
If I hear one more person
in the free world
whining
and clamoring for their
rights,
I may cry.
We have no rights.
I have no rights.
There are children,
sweating,
making our shoes,
scarring their fingertips
with every seam.
There is war.
And disease.
And so many horrors
that I'm too weak-stomached to mention.
We have no rights.
I can only drag my meager self
across campus
waiting
for that time I'm deemed strong enough
to go out into this world
without it eating me alive.
I am comfortable
and ashamed.
I have no rights.
Our homeless live better
than the richest of some.
We have no rights.
No gay rights.
No straight rights.
No civil rights.
No uncivil rights.
No liberal rights
No conservative rights.
No political rights.
Children-
babies, for goodness' sake, babies!
-are crying.
And dying.
While we protest our rights
and whine.
We have no rights.
I have no rights.
the poet-disciples descended
rubbing elbows
with the muses,
those angelic beings
offering coffee
and whispering inspiration,
they, the poets,
gathered 'round the Messiah
awaiting their words
this was their moment of truth
their commission
their calling
their coronation
into the halls of the prophets
here they would be equipped
with pens
paper
and soapboxes
here they would be equipped
with their words
I often find myself contemplating what the soundtrack to my life would sound like. This list was inspired by the Reddicks. Let's rock and roll.
1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
2. Everyone's Beautiful - Waterdeep
3. Sam's Town - The Killers
4. Graceland - Paul Simon
5. Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
6. London Calling - The Clash
7. Till The Sun Burns Black - Ray LaMontagne
8. Third Day - Third Day
9. Take Me To Your Leader - Newsboys
10. IV - Led Zeppelin
11. Underdog - Audio Adrenaline
12. Joshua Tree - U2
13. What You Don't Know - Don Chaffer
14. Whole 'Nother Deal - Waterdeep
15. Runnin' On Empty - Jackson Browne
16. The Songs of Leonard Cohen - Leonard Cohen
17. Bullet - Mat Kearney
18. Supertones Strike Back - Supertones
19. Live at Wembley '86 - Queen
20. Bloom - Audio Adrenaline
21. 20 Greatest Hits in Motown History - Various Artists
22. The Cars - The Cars
23. Songs You Know By Heart - Jimmy Buffett
24. Lifesong - Casting Crowns
25. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
26. Within A Mile of Home - Flogging Molly
"I tried to take the ring from Frodo," he said. "I am sorry. I have paid." His glance strayed to his fallen enemies; twenty at least lay there.
- The Two Towers, Chapter 1 - The Departure of Boromir
Boromir, the favorite son of Denethor, wanted nothing but the rescue of his people. He saw before him a small token of gold hat held unimitable power. Perhaps even the power to save Gondor from slaughter. He wanted the ring in order to save his people. That is a very honorable thought but the problem is that Boromir was under the assumption that strength and power were the key. He was a warrior, after all. He thought armies and arrows would bring victory. His pride in his strength blinded him to the truth that his only real hope lay with a halfling, a creature with no great strength or prowess. A hobbit whose only weapon was a great deal of heart.
It took only a small seed of this emotion to capture Boromir. In the presence of the evil of the ring he went mad. The ring used that small big of doubt and pride and tried to kill him with it. Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo. Frodo escapes. The madness leaves Boromir and he immediately jumps to the aid of the other hobbits as the orcs descend.
"I have paid," he says. Does he mean the dead orcs at his feet or the fact that he is dying? I believe it to be a little of both. He has slain some of the orcs that were attempting to capture the hobbits. He has given his life to a cause he wasn't sure of until it was almost too late. He has redeemed himself.
It's a great metaphor for the Christian life. Our redemption comes through death. We die to the world, die to ourselves and our sinful natures. In this death we live through Christ. We are redeemed. We are saved.
I think in this moment Boromir gave the only thing he knew he had: his life. His strength was fading. His noble birth could not help him. His life was all that was left so he gave it up. That is our own story, too. We have nothing to offer Christ but our lives. Everything else is superfluous. We can only life for him and use whatever gifts he bestows upon us during our journey.
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21
Sigh.
My computer, Eddie, is currently in comatose state. I'm hoping that the good doctor Erk can fix him. If not, I'll soon be investing a new machine. I'm kinda bummed. I like *my* computer. That and I don't want to have to spend money on a new one. That would be most uncool.
On the bright side of life, I have a new job! Starting Monday, I'll be picking up four kids from school, taking them to their extra-curriculars and home. It's a pretty sweet deal. I'm looking forward to it.
Sorry I don't have much to say today. Not too talkative.
Off to read a book!
- Sarah
1. Books smell really good.
2. There was a time in my life when I thought the only person who understood me was a fictional girl named Harriet M. Welsch. Because of this attachment, I've read Harriet the Spy over a dozen times. It inspired me to get a notebook of my own.
3. In the end, the only peace Frodo really got was found when he finally sailed to the Middle Earth equivalent of Heaven. But he knew he had done what he had to do. I believe that's a little how my father felt as he passed through the pearly gates.
4. We didn't do a lot of traveling in my family as I was growing up. Books were the only way I could see the world. I could probably find my way around the Heart of Gold or Hobbiton just as easily as I can Jonesboro.
5. I've read my share of trashy romance novels. I've even read Twilight. After all that, I can only conclude this: if I ever find a man that is a subtle blend of Aragorn and Mr. Darcy I will marry him *immediately*. And that is no lie.
6. Escape.
7. My own decisions didn't seem so hard when I realized that Ender had been fighting the aliens the whole time.
8. I thought I had a pretty good handle on the narrow vision of "the south". Then I read "To Kill A Mockingbird".
9. After "Wringer" I knew I wouldn't have been able to kill the bird either. And I also knew I'd never back down when my own time came.
10. No book of mine has ever crashed, gotten a virus, refused to open or randomly deleted all the words within it.
