POEM: "Witness"

I wrote this poem right before New Year Eve's 2007. It's one of the few poems I have written in the past few years so it contains alot of ideas that I wanted to "unpack." I've performed it a couple of times throughout my city at various coffee shops and churches. It was inspired by what I have come to see as one of the best witnesses to the world about the message of Jesus: a transformed life that is marked by compassion for those who suffer and struggle.

Behold and bear witness
to systems designed to victimize the blind.
What will it take to fix this?

Prayer, yes…
but prayer alone
is like living off air alone.

You see,
whether you’re conservative or liberal,
whether you read the Bible critical or take it literal
the hardest part is making it physical
Let the Gospel become flesh
and challenge the rulers who build their empires
with the blood of the same people they consider inferior and invisible

Pardon the interruption,
but the human heart is filled with so much corruption
we’ve got hearts of stone, even my own
I can feel that the war is on en mi corazón
Evil still sits on the throne.
No one’s good but God alone.

And that’s enough to make me suspicious.
We're like sheep sent to live with the wolves,
the vulnerable amongst the vicious
Not violent, but not silent when facing the evils of men
The dark side of imagination and free-will, the evil within
Who’s our worst enemy?
Is it really an invisible demon wearing a devilish grin,
or is it our own selfish and hard heart
willing to do whatever to win?

Look at Pharaoh
Now, who took an arrow, shot us and got us
willing to rape, kill and cheat for things we don't need
Exploiting our sisters and brothers,
selling our souls and sacrificing their lives
on the altar of greed.
Halt the stampede!
Where will this road lead?
And what kind of seed do we expect to start bloomin'
when we demonize God’s children
and treat them like they’re less than human?

When we raise our children to become mindless consumers,
mere cogs and gears, in a machine
that profits off of our insecurities, addictions and fears
Fears of each other and of the unknown
Take the cover off of this syndrome
and fight the temptation to become bitter and heartless

Lord, deliver us from the evil that haunts us
I pray that we never get too used to the darkness
or get so used to wickedness and injustice
that we eventually become their accomplice
If the Spirit of God blows where it wishes,
then I pray it breathes new life into my conscience
I'm just an artist trying my hardest
to plant my seeds of light for the harvest

Lord, make us wise as serpents,
so we can detect lies with discernment
Make us harmless as doves,
armed with Your love
On a rescue mission, fishin’ in these dark waters
on the lookout for
prodigal sons and fathers,
lost mothers and daughters
Little boys
living and dying by the weapons of violence
Little girls
believing the lie that they’re only good for their sexual talents
This world is off balance and it’s time to break silence
with a witness…that this is…

going to take a miracle
like feeding thousands
with a few loaves and fishes
when we've got people in need of housing
food, clothes and dishes
Victims with wounds so deep
that they need to be healed with more than stitches
People need hope, ya’ll…
more than four-leaf clover wishes

Because corrupt corporations and governments
aren’t run by monsters
They’re supported by everyday people, like us
just going about our everyday business
desensitized to the crimes that we witness
God forgive us,
for not asking questions
or investigating the fruits of our labor
Who does it effect?
Who does it hurt?
Who does it endanger?

God forgive us,
for being more concerned with a pay raise
and what looks good on our résumés
meanwhile we treat Your children and Your creations
like strays and throwaways
I pray for better days
Help us find a way out of this maze

where dreams can die in a child's head
because they’re malnutritious
because they’re not being fed,
hopelessness blinding their vision
where children idolize killers and criminal-minded magicians
who can take a pocket full of stones (drugs)
and turn them into bread,
then turn that bread into homes
and turn those same homes into haunted houses
where the living dead roam.

At midnight,
junkies and addicts turn into zombies and wicked witches
casting spells on themselves
and manipulating their own families to get their fixes
Imprisoned in their own personal hell,
like a prison cell
locked from the inside when the key is right in front of them
but their disease just keeps on numbing' them…
And we ask: “Jesus! What can be done for them?”
What can we do?
How can we help?

Well,
we can’t hide behind stained glass windows and white fences,
We’ve got to get in the trenches,
we can't just be critics that boo from the benches
We’ve got a choice, we can either build up walls or build bridges
Get involved or die with good intentions

Yes, we’re sinners but we don’t plan to surrender
Let’s bring the truth to the center
and tell the whole story so the people remember
A witness…that this is…not the Creator’s intent
but a witness…that this is…a call for us all to repent.