The Death of American Innocence
by Therese Baumberger 9/15/01
Innocence does not die at once, in that first raptured thrust.
It dies in each small seduction, in every subsequent acquiescence.
American innocence did not die in that bright flashing terrorist act,
it dwindled breath by breath, in great and tiny acts of terror,
It died with every smallpox blanket sold to an Indian village,
with every arrogantly greed-wrested acre,
with every language and culture that disappeared,
it died on the Trail of Tears.
It died with every African shackled and torn from homeland, family,
with every auction block sale of humanity,
with every black woman raped by a white slave owner,
it died in the Middle Passage.
It died with every civil rights activist beaten or killed,
with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers
it died in Montgomery and Selma and Little Rock.
It died with Roosevelt's refusal to accept Jews fleeing the Nazis,
it died with every black man sent first to the front lines
it died with two atomic weapons dropped upon Japan,
170,000 lives lost in two great flashing instants.
It dies with every chemical weapon developed,
with every nuclear test, wherever it happens,
with every bomb or jail built instead of a school.
It dies with every KKK rally and every single lynching,
with every man searched by police because he's black,
with every black man beaten by white officers,
with every child who witnesses or perpetuates gang warfare,
it dies with every racist or sexist or homophobic or anti-Semitic joke.
It dies with every bombed synagogue, mosque, temple,
with every black church burned,
with every abortion clinic bombed,
with every hate-filled word or deed.
It dies with every sweatshop built on a poorer country's soil,
with every product bought, made by a political prisoner,
with every homeless person,
with every starving despairing child.
Oh, innocence never dies at once, only delusion does.
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Let us make this earth a heaven
Therese Baumberger 1/28/99 revised 4/2001
Let us make this earth a heaven, right here, right now.
Who knows what existences death will bring?
Let us create a heaven here on earth
where love and truth and justice reign.
Let us welcome all at our Pearly Gates, our Freedom Table,
amid singing and great rejoicing,
black, white, yellow, red, and all our lovely colors,
straight, gay, transgendered, bisexual, and all the ways
of loving each other's bodies.
Blind, deaf, mute, healthy, sick, variously-abled,
Young, old, fat, thin, gentle, cranky, joyous, sorrowing.
Let no one feel excluded, let no one feel alone.
May the rich let loose their wealth to rain upon the poor.
May the poor share their riches with those too used to money.
May we come to venerate the Earth, our mother,
and tend her with wisdom and compassion.
May we make our earth an Eden, a paradise.
May no one wish to leave her.
May hate and warfare cease to clash in causes
too old and tired to name; religion, nationalism,
the false false god of gold, deep-rooted ethnic hatreds.
May these all disperse and wane, may we see each others' true selves.
May we all dwell together in peace and joy and understanding.
Let us make a heaven here on earth, before it is too late.
Let us make this earth a heaven, for each others' sake.
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Wise Woman Redwood
by Therese Baumberger 9/15/01
I lean against wise woman redwood,
press my cheek to her scaly side and cry,
whisper how I wish to be a tree,
so I would no longer have to see
what humans do to one another.
Her wooden reedy voice replies,
"Yes, but then you'd listen to earth lament
what humans do to her."
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Pastoral thought 12/16/01
by Therese Baumberger
The holiday season is upon us
But this year many of us
Move toward it with leaden feet.
It has been such a year.
And because it has been such a year
It may feel forced to enter into
The jolly spirit of Christmas,
The joyful spirit of Hannukah,
The reflective spirit of Solstice,
The hopeful spirit of New Year's.
Thinking of all this, I would like to offer this prayer, with you.
It is a responsive prayer, please respond with the words "May we
find peace."
Spirit of Life, Goodness and Peace:
May we find peace.
When our world is worn with war:
May we find peace.
When our lives are ruled by fear:
May we find peace.
When loss ladens our days:
May we find peace.
When loneliness weighs heavy in our hearts:
May we find peace.
When despair takes hold of our souls:
May we find peace.
As we give help to those in need:
May we find peace.
As we go about our daily duties:
May we find peace.
As we make holiday preparations:
May we find peace.
As we gather in this place of grace:
May we find peace.
Spirit of Life, Goodness and Peace:
May we find peace.
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