First Thursday of Advent

Read 1st Thessalonians 3:1-13

        night and day

we thought we could
    put up with
        those words that crush us
            with their mean-spirited
                    definitions;
        those looks that pin us
            to despair's wall;
        the cruelty which wears
            piety's mask.

we thought we could
    stick out
        the never-ending days
            where every hour is filled
            with chronic grief;
        those nights where unanswered
        prayers scud across the skies,
            with no dawn peeking
                    over the horizon.

we thought we could
    carry the load
        of the suffering that takes root
            in the most barren lives;
        of the tears our friends
            baptize us with;
        of the injustices the merciless
            gift to the most vulnerable.

we thought we could bear it all
but

so send
                hope
                    help
                        peace
                            justice

send Jesus to us
    once again.

© 2010 Thom M. Shuman