#57 To John Woolman

To John Woolman

Friend John,
pacing your apple orchard
a hundred years and more
before the Civil War,
pondering the evil
that grows from love of money,
the plight of the poor,
how they connect,
where we fit in

Opening your heart
to the oppressed—
field workers, beasts of burden—-
all who labor painfully
that others might indulge
in that which only separates
them from God

Traveling long hours on horseback
or on foot
to visit those who still hold slaves,
taking time to center first in love—-
love for all God’s creatures,
the least and the great,
the harmed and those who harm
(perhaps unknowingly)
then searching for the words
to open clouded hearts

I feel you near.
I read those quiet, careful words
and hear the great passion
that rings behind,
your keen mind revealed,
undaunted by truth
unflinching in the task
of bringing it to light.

Your mind’s alive in me—
the choice to look and think,
make sense of our economy,
who works, who gains, how money flows,
puzzle out connections, patterns,
probe for roots,
sure that life together here on earth
can somehow be made right.

Your single-minded quest
sounds the depths of courage
and of faith.
I glimpse
where you in hard-won steadfastness believe:
we cannot be at peace
until our lives are stripped
down to our share.

Your task is laid upon my heart.
If only you can find the words to say
how sweet it is
to live as we were meant,
while willing us to look, clear-eyed
at all the facets of
our unconsidered lives—
the excesses that weigh us down
the ease that rubs another raw—

If only you can stand before us one by one
invite us
through hard truth
and through great love
to lay those burdens down—-
then we will change.

Impossible
so it would seem--
or maybe not.





Some things that have given me hope recently:

A forklift owner who, when asked his price, asked the customer's hourly wage
then pegged his a few dollars higher.

The power of laying aside agendas and seeking together for the truth.

Wetlands being reestablished along the Mississippi River.

The first new synagogue since the Holocaust opening in Estonia's capital to
serve its Jewish community.