September 25th

"By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion." Psalm 137:1

there are rivers
found on no maps—
trickling down hospital corridors,
flowing with tears,
flooding refugee camps,
rushing through neighborhoods
where sirens are the lullabies
children hear each night.
there are those rivers
on which float

the names of
all those we have lost,
the flotsam and jetsam of dreams,
the familiar places we no longer
can call home.
perhaps this is where
faith can begin—
not building bridges
over the sorrows of others,
but by sitting on the banks
beside them in silence,
listening to the waters,
daring to weep
as their tears flow.
for God
has never tried to dam
our rivers of tears,
but simply slips into
the waters to be with us

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman