Caught on the Wrong Side of History

June 1, 1865
September 2, 1945
November 30, 1955
What is this common infamy?
All are on the wrong side of history.
The day before monumental events
Shaped and formed
our culture,
our moral compass
our very humanity.

And one day–in the not too distant future–
I hope–
Oh God I hope and pray
that this season of  atrocities too will take its place
at history’s gate
closed out from what is decent and moral and just

The tearing of child from a travel weary breast
The haunting sobs “Papa, Papa”
The dusty and dirty and disoriented, alone
in the heat of a desert, with not a thing to call their own
Even language escapes them.

Running with desperation from future of despair
Toward arms which promise
To welcome
the tired,
the poor,
the huddled masses,
yearning to breathe free
And yet with malicious and selfish intent
Arms do not liberate,
but separate and incarcerate
All as political plea

A scourge on the very fabric
Our collective moral fiber
We are marked again
on the wrong side of History
in a mutiny of everything that defines us as human;

All who have ears to hear let them listen…
History will judge us
as standing on her wrong side–
One day,
when the stories are told
and the generations look back
they will ask of us…
How could that happen?
Why did people let that happen?
And humility will wave her long finger in the faces of those who dug in their heels and say
“Shame … Shame … Shame on you  and  you … and  you”

Until enough good people stand up and say,
Not on our watch
will history
judge our place
And we will usher out
this unbearable sorrow
of our nation’s soul,
till then…
We must
Push forward
Resist
hold the banner high
and KNOW
this too shall pass
and so
we pray,
we call,
we cry,
we clothe,
we feed ,
we donate,
we hug,
we nurture,
we are present with,
we run for office
we campaign…
For humanity’s sake
For all this greatness … is just too much to endure
Alone without each other
Martin Luther King once said “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice”
We pray for that bend
Good God bring that bend!
Let Justice reign for us again.

Photo via Unsplash.

About Ami Vielehr
Ami Vielehr has been in ministry for the past twenty-five years as a pastor, teacher, hospice chaplain, writer, speaker and retreat leader. Ami is currently on sabbatical from full time ministry to pursue writing her first book about grieving the losses of sacred community. She is the founder and director of Sabbath Place: a community of believers on a journey of discovery and spiritual growth, engaging with God and each other to develop and nurture personal and corporate relationships. As a blogger and poet, Ami, explores spiritual themes in creation, community and family. Seeking truth and authenticity through messy spirituality, she is willing to get her hands dirty in the process of getting to know God.