October 21st

“they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
   and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
   neither shall they learn war any more;” Micah 4:3b

true,
we may not carry guns
but oh, the damage we do
with the finger pointing out
all the mistakes another makes.
we do not walk around with swords,
but have you seen the wounds
we can inflict with just
a simple word of judgment,
that subtle thrust of cruelty?
we don’t hurl spears
at anyone these days,
but with those small devices
we carry in our palms,
the sharpened points of
every platform on social media
serves the same purpose today.
remind us, Gentle God,
that we still learn war today,
we just don’t notice it
because it does not fit
the image we have carried
around from all the movies
we watched so long ago.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman