Poem January 15, 1996 Issue

Not crime/not time

June McCleneghan Fowler

I have never been held on any death row,
Never been imprisoned in a cellblock so;
Nor am I a human storage bin
Of wrath or fear, disease or sin,
Sentenced to die by earthly law or medical decree—
I am God's man, His image, wholly free
Of error's ways or ill desire,
Not mortal selfhood set on fire
By evil thrust. And since
I am God's child, I must
Reflect Him in joy, health, harmony,
With no hint of hatred, lust, mortality.

This revelation of true selfhood,
Regenerating thought, loved, lived, and proved,
Restores my innate purity, aligns me with immortal good,
Empowers me, heals, is God—Life—approved.

Since the fact that God's man can never
Be on "death's row" is universally true,
Freedom, life eternal, peace,
Is His law for me and you.

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