We

Oh God, why do you vex us so?

We who have toiled in the vineyards of the Lord
We who have eaten our bread by the sweat of our brow
We who have stamped out the vintage of the grapes of wrath.

We who are not academics and who did not graduate
From the Iowa Writer's Workshop
We who are not intellectuals nor shapers of opinion
We also need to sing our songs and write our poems.

We serve the coffee and clean the tables
We are not the rockstars nor the athletes
We are lost in a faceless sea of billions of people
We who's prayers are never answered.

Did we not worship you in fear and trembling?
Did we not call upon your name in praise?
Did we not search for you diligently?
Did we not seek you in all reverence?

We feel the pain and humiliation
We feel the shame and senselessness
We feel the agony of defeat
We feel abused and neglected.

Will we not be here still tomorrow?
Will we not bleed in silence then also?
Will we not weep forever more?

Oh God, why do you chastise us so?.




copyright Ron Stephens 2013
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