Blindly Thrashing

We lost a mare the other day

Our beautiful buckskin dun, with the soulful eyes

Who greeted us eagerly each day

And nursed her beautiful son so faithfully

 

Perhaps the trauma of giving birth

Moved things around

 

A twisted gut

Vet Randy said

 

it was horrible and terrifying

as she ran blindly, and cast herself down

rolling and flailing

trying to remove the pain

 

my heart still hurts

 

and my heart hurts too

each time I find myself reading, or hearing the words

of other creatures in pain

 

human creatures

not in physical pain

but in a sort of emotional, spiritual, moral pain

that has them blindly

thrashing

 

mindless of who they hurt

mindless of how they hurt themselves

 

I read the vitriolic words of those

who would demean and minimize others

I read as being “woke” is demonized

I watch as women are objectified and diminished into baby machines

As people are demeaned and diminished

I watch as justice is subverted

And people’s right to vote is taken away

And the planet is plundered

 

I see the blind devotion to guns and violence

I see hate rule the day

and what I see is pain

a pain that is so intense it blinds

 

blinds people to reason

to facts

but most of all blinds them to other people

 

that black person

that LGBTQI person

that woman

that raped child

that immigrant

that addict

that person with mental illness

that veteran

that old person lingering on the edge of poverty

 

they all disappear

and all that is left is the pain

the fear

 

of losing power

losing wealth

 

the fear of things changing

 

Isaiah warned us,

Jesus confirmed it

“You will indeed listen but never understand, and you will indeed look but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes, so that they might not look with their eyes,

and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn — and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13)

 

our world is in pain

people are in pain

and pain, it appears, begets pain

as our attempts to deal with our pain makes us mindless

and (too many times) heartless

and yes

cruel

 

may we turn

turn to Love

turn to the One who can heal

 

so that we will not be cast down

so that we can see

not just ourselves (clearly and honestly)

not just the truth

but see each person we meet

 

child of God

child of God