Caution Tape

Overwhelming compassion falling like the turned autumn leaves
Into the open hands of children with wide eyes and narrow futures
The click of heels down city sidewalks serving as a constant reminder of the separation
between the people who walk on the cold concrete and the people who sleep on it
Those whose purchases are kept in shopping bags and those whose lives are kept in the very same
Haunted souls and haunted eyes
Coffee cups filled with lattes and coffee cups filled with change
Why do we choose to be content with anthills when we could be building up mountains?

"God bless you!" cried out to turned backs and turned minds
I've heard that the chill of winter in the city is nothing compared to the cold hearts that inhabit it
When did it become normal to deem people unworthy of connection
Downcast eyes and parents holding their children's hands tighter than before
You can't keep them comfortable forever
Because there is nothing comfortable about feeling guilty and sheltered
Walking an easy path lit by street lights and love
While your brothers and sisters have stumbled in the dark

It's easy to believe in a God who blesses you
A God whose hand you can visibly see working in people and through people
Whose voice you can hear in conversations of kindness
But I cannot imagine that it is easy to find Him in judging eyes and the backs of heads
How do you build your life on the Rock
When you feel like rocks are being thrown at you daily?
I don't think I'll ever understand the type of faith that grows in deserts
Are there seeds of truth in barren soil?
Are there branches of life in burned down forests?

And still I believe that the goodness of the world outshines fear
Our problem is that we use the light of goodness to create shadows
We point to the darkness more often than we dwell in it
Sometimes it's easier to give than it is to share
We set up caution tape around our comfort zone and barriers around our point of view
The problem isn't that we refuse to cross or climb them
The problem is that we set them up in the first place
Humanity has created a "them" and an "us" instead of a "we"
Like reaching toward fire and getting burned
It may take dozens of tries before we stop blaming the flame and start blaming ourselves