Poem August 1, 1988 Issue

Be Columbus!

Godfrey John

You, homeless, lost, face to face
with lust, disgust, despair, in the city streets;
you, young girl, hoping, believing
in what is truest and timeless about you—
purity, dignity, love—
you, innocent!

You, son, on the run, your gun discarded,
in refuge finding a dying potted plant
and nourishing it as dusk closes in,
then smiling at its tiny leaves as they lift
at last to meet you in the morning shadows—
you, innocent!

Innocence has no age.
Innocence cannot die.
For each of us
God pours His fresh quenchless love.
Look up. It's not too late.
In each of us
lies the promised land—the consciousness
where innocence flowers in immunity.

Oh son, daughter, comrade—live
calmly, courageously. What is happening?
Christ is happening:
see, in you now looms a new
land of undiscovered destiny.

You, innocent—be Columbus
to this stainless continent of light!

Godfrey John

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