The Posit

“You should,” they told me, “be a pastor.”

“Your voice is soothing and deep.”

I could’ve been a soothsayer,

But I resisted the temptation knowing

It is good for a man to remain as he is.

I am not a pastor, nor a pastor’s son,

But I tend electric sheep, providing

Virtual entertainment for the masses,

Pulling the digital wool under their eyes.

So I have not mastered divinity, and

My doctrine remains undoctorate, but

I may yet have a Word that is

Not trademarked Microsoft. It is:

Be a light to the whole house.

Don’t take Christ’s name in vain.

Don’t be the one to cast the first stone

To chase off the lost sheep.

Deliver God’s love letters even to

The midst of sinners’ celebrations

And do not replace them

With hate mail. Don’t even be

A third wheel, much less steer

God’s courtships into the brambles.

Train to be a marksman with

Your Kalashnikov of kindness;

Shoot early and often.

Do not miss the target; rather

Pay what debtors owe from

The boundless wealth you are given.

Bid the angered legion sit

And share five loaves instead,

Take joy for their strength,

‘Til sister and brother rise,

Gladly shoulder the yoke, and

Plow out the Promised Land.

©2022 M Richter

Santa Fe