Poem June 25, 1979 Issue

While praying about world hunger

Alice Ella Boehmer

I prayed—
oh yes, I prayed—
for all those poor, deprived
and set-upon,
those choked
by the mean, the cruel
and the greedy.
I loved them so much—
those poor.
I separated them completely
from their plight.
And oh, how happy I was.
I said,
This is it.
I felt very pleased.
I felt smug, for wasn't I
helping
the poor deprived and set-upon?

Then what a shock I had!
My smugness disappeared,
and I asked myself,
Aren't you missing something?
Nothing is complete
until you have loved completely,
my friend.

You do not leave anyone
out of the kingdom of heaven—
neither
the poor, deprived, and set-upon,
nor
the mean and cruel and greedy.
You place them all in the arms
of Love
and acknowledge that God sees all,
all His creation as including all,
as expressing all
that Love is
that Love has
that Love knows.

Oh yes, my friend, now you see.
You see
that there are neither
poor, deprived and set-upon
nor
mean and cruel and greedy.
Now you see God's—Love's—man
reflecting in all his ways
abundance
substance
freedom
kindness
and unselfed love.

All right, my friend,
now you have prayed.

Alice Ella Boehmer

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