Thursday, November 27, 2014

Mirages of Peace

Undoubtedly there are always people
who see Jesus' face
in the mashed potatoes

but soon Pope Francis
will be seen in Turkey

where he has been invited
by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Bartholomew I

to celebrate the feast of St. Andrew.

While there
the Pope will be tackling

(with his bare hands
and in full holy battle regalia)

the issue
of strained Christian-Muslim relations

as the 99 percent Islamic country
awaits an acknowledgement
of their persecution

along with Iraqi and Syrian Christians
who have fled ISIS
in their home countries

and are living as refugees.

As if dialogue 
could do anything
that a well-placed drone couldn't

he commented
on his perseverance.

“I never count anything
as lost. Never. 

Never close the door."

This poem © 2014 Emily Cooper.