I'm not afraid of evil

[Eva Libre]

I'm not afraid
of evil

because
it can only kill
me once

~ but if I stand
against evil

I get to live
100,000 times

oh, Great Spirit,
help me find the courage
to quit being so silent amid
evil's scorched-earth sermon
of unholy despair

our Creator of Countless Stars
come to my aid and allow
me to find my voice so
I sing a dozen psalms of love
in the face of evil

while evil
commands his war machine
from his throne

I will be planting sunflowers
in the war trenches

while evil
scratches "despair forever"
on the foreheads
of every prisoner he captures

I will be growing
a sprawling garden
that will carry the
fragrance of possibility
over every prison wall

and maybe
evil will send
wolves to
come devour
me as I patiently
wait for my flowers
to bloom and tower

but I will not
let fear of death
keep me from
growing my meadow

because the game is rigged

every time evil tries
to destroy hope
with rage and fury

hope always comes
back with her lush
rows of inevitable promise

yes,
evil,

no matter how many bullets you fire
or how many explosions you cause

you will never be able to kill hope
and that must be killing you

***

~ john roedel

[desmond dillon]

light is not stopped by darkness

or put out

or even knows about it

or if it were about.