Absolute
I know this is true,
Said the man
To the group
Punctuated by fervent emotion.
This is the list
Of the Absolute Truths.
The things you can count on
And give full devotion.
This man, he’s a Latter-day Saint,
He’s a Muslim,
A Witness, a Hindu
An Orthodox Jew.
He roams all the earth
With his absolute knowledge
That he is the one
With far more truth than you.
I feel a twinge,
A hesitance.
A lack of
Gospel resonance.
I prematurely
Raise my hand.
Failing to
Convey my sense.
O, what is truth?
A thing we say?
Declared with
Total certainty?
God is Adam!
Blacks are cursed!
True marriage is
Polygamy!
The things we’ve said,
The things we claim,
Never were
The central part.
How we make
Each other feel.
This, I think,
Is at the heart.
I see you! You matter!
How’s your day?
I love you much and
Friends are we!
When you share
This kind of love,
“Ye have done it
Unto me.”
When I meet my
God above,
Will He test the
Things I know?
Will He confirm
That I’m a part
Of his choice
One percent below?
Or will She smile
Arms wide open?
Warm
Familiarity.
In Her face,
The ones I’ve loved.
Greatest, by far,
Is charity.
I look around,
I see forever.
Heaven is
A busy place.
Everyone who
Loved someone
Had done God’s work
And wore God’s face.
And not just them
But many more.
Children of
Disease and war.
Carl Sagan
Held one close.
One abused
And very poor.
In came The Prophet,
Washed the child,
Chanting love
From his Quran.
Then the Teacher
Read her classics:
Oliver Twist and
Peter Pan.
Warm and loved,
Feeling safe,
The child took
A lengthy nap.
The face of God
Became his own
Hugged upon a
Mother’s lap.
What am I writing?
What is this?
Lines invented.
Imagination.
Mansions, gates, and
Streets of gold.
Limbo, hell,
Reincarnation.
Truth that matters,
Truth that binds us,
Isn’t a dogmatic
Bomb.
Love’s my
Absolutest truth.
It has no fear,
It fills with calm.
I feel this love
Inside my church.
With Catholics, Muslims
It’s the same.
I feel this love
With former saints
And creeds of
Almost any name.
As I think
‘bout 2020
A year and decade
Here renewed.
I hope we all
Can find new ways
To make love our
Shared attitude.
I won’t expect you
To act first,
I’ll have no line
Drawn in the sand.
Instead, I want to
Listen.
Instead, I want to
Understand.
So many alone
Friends on screens.
At church or Sunstone
Anywhere.
So many alone.
So many alone.
Surrounded by people.
Alone they are.
It isn’t required.
It’s not predefined.
Past failures must not always
Prove consequential.
Like cells dividing
It simply requires
We spread goodwill,
Love’s growth exponential.
Saintly or secular
All of us share
A simple core value
Of highest distinction.
Nobody argues
About this priority.
All of us claim it as
Our good intention.
What does it look like?
Absolute Love.
What does it act like?
Absolute Love.
Does calling it love
Make it love?
Does claiming I’m right
Make it love?
Can I say that I love
When some people I “love”
Feel beaten and worthless
Demeaned and un-human?
Tough love, I may call it.
It’s in their best interest.
Cleansing the wound to
Allow for the healing.
I’m totally certain that
I have the truth!
Those who reject it
Will suffer for sure!
The most loving thing
I can do by this logic
Is nag or ignore them
With hopes to procure.
Adults often do this
We complicate things.
Red faces of bullet points
Proving our case.
I know, it’s naive:
“A child shall lead them.”
Childlike love must be
Put in its place.
Childlike love might be
Too absolute.
Playing with anyone
Poses a danger.
Heaven forbid someone
Alters my views!
As I come to respect
A belief-system stranger.
I’ve so much to teach them.
They’ve so much to learn.
Little by little I’ll
Make them like me.
If they can be humble
And swallow their pride,
Then they’ll feel my love.
Then they will see.
I see your eyes roll
My sarcasm you sense.
Hyperbole highlighting
Things that don’t work.
We see these dynamics
In those all around us.
It’s sad to see others
Behave like a jerk.
And so it continues
The merry-go-round.
Egos protected by
Absolute truth.
So-holy ends that
Justify means.
Beheading potential
From early in youth.
What seed will it take for
Absolute love
To have a small chance
To grow into a tree?
As much as I hope I’m
Already enlightened,
With absolute certainty
It starts with me!
Are you an acquaintance
That voted for Trump?
Tell me your thinking,
I’ll take you to lunch.
I won’t try to make you a
Bleeding heart lib.
Tell me of gun rights
And Bamacare crunch.
To my fellow saints
I don’t always relate.
Certitude still makes me
Feel out of place.
Let me come to your house
Tell me your why’s,
The fuel behind your good life
Full of grace.
President Oaks,
I’m trying so hard.
Your face and your voice
Trigger negative things.
Since talking is probably
Not gonna happen
I’ll seek common ground
Where goodwill flows in springs.
Dear tolerant reader
You see what I’m selling.
You’ve come to this party
And ate these hors d’oeuvres.
Don’t reach for your wallet!
Some time and a smile
Is everything needed
For this learning curve.
