The sharks have been circling.
They wait for blood in the water.
The tiniest drop will unleash a frenzy.
Everywhere you go, you are questioned.
They are relentless.
It is impossible for them to understand the choice you’ve made.
For precisely this reason, the choice was not theirs to be made.

As you reemerge from the water, shock overcomes them.
They cling to God and begotten scripture.
You’ve made a choice to be this way.
“His holiness wouldn’t make you this person.”
They pray wishing it were possible to throw you back.
There is hope and recommitment in the sea.
You aren’t going back.

You are walking on land.
With head held high, you leave behind the X in the water.
For the first time, you are filled with pride and love.
Life is born anew and so are you.

The king died today.
It stopped the world in its tracks.
The news spread like a forest fire.
We mourned as we searched for comfort found in quotes.
We had to draw a lesson from his life.

Jailed, tormented and finally freed,
He rose to the height of king.
All the while, fist clinched.
A symbol held in the air for all to see.
Democratically elected, he knew man was meant to be free.

We often talk of things needing to be done.
He was in the business of doing.
From here, we can draw inspiration.
Here, his light shines on us.
We are to be kings.
Kings of our own destiny.
Gods of the possible.

Change has two faces.
At times, it seems glacial.
At others, it sweeps over us at a rapid face.
But change comes for us all.

Love has two faces.
It can seem just out of reach.
Or it makes itself known when we least expect it.
Love has a way of finding us all.

Pain has two faces.
Often, unbearable.
Then, something to be triumphed.
Pain is often born out of love and it has a way of changing us all.

And with wrist close and overlapped, we march on.
Despite the changes and pain.
Love has us marching on.
It is our way of seeing this life through.

Offering aid and comfort to the poor isn't a calling.
It is a commandment.
Something all are to do,
But few attempt.
Rather, we formulate a showdown.

"For the least of these,"
Is how the words of the supposed savior begin.
They may be the most ignored words in the whole book.
Ignored out of sheer inconvenience.
Rather, we formulate a showdown.

The posturing must end.
We either give of ourselves fully, no matter faith,
Or we quit pretending.
We can't do both.
No more manufactured showdowns.

Backwards hat displaying his favorite team.
Camouflage blowing in the breeze.
Desert wind whipping stars and stripes into a fury.
Tortured holidays spent away from home.
A ration of turkey will have to do.
X tattoo on his upper arm.
A shaky faith in God.
A devil who feels more real.
Babies born thousands of miles away.
Time through an hourglass like sand.
Plenty to go around.
A mission.
Another deployment.
Very few questions asked.
Because the country asked.

We've been here before.
These set of circumstances are not unbeknownst to us.
We're a product of our environment.
The time is not of our choosing.
It is ****** upon us.
To be used to make ends meet.

This time is familiar.
The decision mirrors one made three years prior.
The calling is a product created within us.
It is our choosing.
We invited it into our lives.
It trumps selfish things, always has.
And it always will.

The weight is different though.
Time is running short.
Your life has an end in mind.
Accept the things you cannot change?
Go about the business of perfection despite the cost.
These are the decisions to be made at this time.

The empire is guilty of numerous sins.
It hasn't always acted like the emblem of justice.
More blood stains its hands than Pontius Pilate.
Interests often blind her from obvious truth.
Still, she is war ready.

Her armies and commanders of the sea stand guard.
Because every once in a while she gets it right.
She brings truth.
She brings fairness.
She brings justice.
On occasion, she can be a global symbol.

Now, red lines in the sand find themselves crossed.
The empire shakes with anger.
Loss of innocence, we cannot tolerate.
Her people will soon be on her side.
She is war ready.