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Reflections on Testaments (2013)
The bolts are falling out of place
That keep reality seated where it has been
For years, months, days, decades,
Hearing the buzz of a fan misaligned
Feeling the rattle of connections loosening
Of determination and concentration failing
I think tune ups are in order
I see the distance some people have gone
Running on nothing but dreams and fear
Not knowing the back roads and side alleys
They’ve had to cut through to make good time
But I see the wear of their treads
They’re not gripping life as fully anymore
And it’s ok that we break down some time
More complicated to repair than any machine
But also a little easier because the human heart
Can talk back if one can listen
How it wails in duet with the unsettled mind
But listening means bearing witness
And bearing witness means confronting calamity
However I have seen the world end enough times
Upheaved by faith or money or justice or greed or hatred
That another calamity is bearable, if for a good cause
And there is no better cause than healing another person
So remember the listen and bear witness
Before judging and dismissing
Because that could be the difference between saving a life
And suffocating it for years to come
