PRAYER. A POEM

PRAYER

I saw a man
Kneeling & praying
On the corner of
Purgatory Street &
Salvation Ave wearing
An American flag like
A shawl to protect him
From evil

I saw a man in
Utah pouring out
Hate to a crowd of young
Students pretending
To be a good Christian
Man

Interrupted

I’ve seen wars
And bullets screaming
And ripping through
The bodies the flesh of human
Beings both good &
Evil, children in far
Away countries &
Only a few miles away
From the safety of suburbia

And either way?

They all die

For the bullet knows
Nothing about discrimination
The gun, knows even less

Knows nothing about racism
Money or greed or the color
Of anyone’s skin

And kills everyone equally

Without remorse
Or mercy

I saw a man kneeling
On the corner of Purgatory
And Salvation praying
In an American flag

He poured gasoline
All over himself
And then set himself on fire
Screaming his final words

Love is Dead

And we’re all going to hell

Create heaven now

~ R.M. Engelhardt
©2025