I was but ten years old and fearless
steeped in the tradition of miracles
brought about by steadfast prayer
symbols of candles and holy water
rituals with the heavy smell of incense
chimes and bells extolling virtues
of those who gazed upon a crucifix
a man’s body nailed upon its’ image
a man whose story repeated as an echo
through time, through space in my head
someone I would never meet and who
lived in a distant past Jerusalem
I never questioned as my prayers filled
the vast void of my heart in need
of those miracles I believed would come
when an accident left you living
but only a shadow of who you once were
leaving me with unfulfilled prayers
feeling betrayed by a belief system
filled with rituals of incense and bells
of symbolic candles and crosses
a lifetime spent in understanding
that beliefs are what you make of them
that systems may not work or betray
that what I believe in is far greater
than myself a universe not made by people
that churches are made by people
when numbers far outweigh ones’ fear
solace and joy can need to be shared
that I loved you despite everything
© March 2017 Renee Espriu
I have written this poem for Jamie Dedes’s Wed prompt. Please read more at https://jamiededes.com/2017/03/15/once-upon-a-sea-green-day-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt/.
Image Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself
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