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.

Read more of my poetry, essays, and stories at Momentitiousness.com