Hostages
Hostages
1980
Tucked tightly under covers,
Doted on by elder folks,
A world away from worry,
I prayed five-year-old’s
blessings
For
freedom:
Upon hostages—whatever those
were—
Endangered TV characters
trapped
In a dangerous TV place.
1989
Packed tightly in velvet pews
Touched by God’s slain son’s
spirit,
In holy sanctuary,
I prayed as an innocent
For
freedom:
From original sins’
consequences,
For salvation from
imperfections,
For mercy from a jealous God.
Carefree
and innocent,
Solemn and careless,
Careful
and obsessed,
Consumed and caring:
Care
for home stock.
1995
Creased neatly in my closet,
A creature I knew God made,
Hiding amongst wire hangers,
I prayed, guilt-ridden,
confused,
For
freedom:
From the terrors of honesty
to self,
To openly love those I would
love:
Being me, uninterrupted.
2001
Cornered by empty bottles,
Short of full addictions:
Sloth: horned inebriations.
I prayed, self-demon lassoed,
For
freedom:
From the saccharine priests
of bacchanalia,
From the false prophets of escapism:
To fly high on these angel’s wings.
2009
Imprisoned by bureaucrats,
Promises of safety,
Armed against stability.
I prayed, against self
interests,
For
freedom:
From fear of enemies on our
borders,
From danger from neighbors on
my doorstep,
To trust democracy’s power:
Against
the walls of separation,
For
the links of community,
For
progress and equity,
For hostages’ freedoms:
Fully
Stockholmed.
2018
Wrapped in nostalgia’s
embrace,
Rewriting history,
Remembering peoples’ best,
I pray, against cynics’
cries,
For
freedom:
To re-remember the best in
people,
To reinvest hope in life’s
capital,
To be love’s most willing
hostage.
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