This Is America
– Renee Adele Phillips
My cat Seamus is sick.
Worried, distracted, I wander through Walmart
and find myself in the diaper aisle,
eye-level with tiny diapers for newborns.
I think of the babies who never had the chance to wear diapers—
the ones who were unwanted
the ones whose “births” were anything but still
as a vacuum violently ended every trace of their lives.
I think of the babies at the Border Patrol Facilities—
whose lives matter as much to God as the ones who never took a breath.
The babies and children at these facilities are sick, sweaty, soiled
and go from crying to dying in the course of a day.
Surely it’s not that bad, you say. This is America.
That doesn’t happen here.
I want to believe you.
I want to deafen my ears to the cries I hear at night
and close my mind’s eye to the face of the little boy who died at the facility,
his curls dark and sweaty against his flushed cheeks.
It’s easier to be righteously indignant like you are,
stopping just short of taking any action.
It’s easier to focus on the only life I can save—the life of my Seamus.
Like you said: someone else will have to save the others.
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Comments 4
A powerful and convicting post. Thanks for sharing this Renee. You are a gifted writer and your heart comes out in the words you put on here. ❤️
Thank you, Melanie–for your words and for being such a faithful read and friend. I appreciate you. ❤
Pretty “heavy” Sparrow. Yes, let others do the “heavy lifting”. Naturally, we worry about our own, no time to help others, or take a stand. What to do. Others can do it. I am guilty, most of us are. If we are believers, we will have to answer. God help us all. The very least, we can “speak out”, take a stand. My thoughts, kind of jumbled, Keep on Blogging, Brave Sparrow. TexGen
TexGen–I think everyone’s guilty of wanting someone else to bear the burden. But as believers, as you said, we do have to bear the burden. It’s our calling. Thank you for your thoughts, my friend. ❤