Perspective

 

 Jeremy Slater

 

The soft, soundless snow descends unto the

dormant, frozen lands

The sun awakens from her slumber and

caresses the field with her warm, tender hands

All of the children of the earth are anxious; for

today they will be spoiled beyond compare

Yes, and while the children sleep, the giver of

spoils comes, swiftly

 

Moisture stings the stagnant air

Mosquitoes swarm the people while they rest

Today, the people will go out into the fields and

monotonously harvest

They will pluck man’s sweetener

They will serve man for eternity

Harvesting man’s needs until their hands cry

out for forgiveness

 

The white children so eager for the latest

gadget

Always eager for the latest and greatest

So spoiled beyond recognition

These children believe they are fortunate

Oh, how ignorant!

Open your eyes, my children, for life is more

complex than any abysmal realm

 

Look at the Harvesters

Look at their hands from which years of brutal,

unending work have battered

Look at their homes, unstable and destitute, far

past repairing

Look at their tables with nothing more than

legumes to consume

Look and see, my children, for today you will

grasp an understanding of life

 

The Harvesters, so joyous and full of love

The river of life flows through their veins

Oh, when they look, they see hope

Hope through Him, it is by Him that they have

every need divinely satisfied

 

For gold to them is a simple hug

For precious gems are like a communal bonfire

For it is not power that tugs on the people’s

hearts, but the guidance of the dove

 

Love is like their currency

It ripples in and out of businesses

It flows through hands

And is safeguarded in homes

They need nothing but the everlasting affection

of their community

 

Our ignorant eyes, my Children, perceive them

as poverty-stricken

Living in shacks, consuming little to none, and

working until death

However, reality, oblivious Children, betrays

you

The hope that they possess empowers them to

live beyond the grave

Though our eyes overlook it, in reality, the

joyful, gracious Harvesters have everything

You, Children, materialistically have everything

However, spiritually, you have nothing

 

Now don’t scurry, my dear Children, for today is

an awakening

As a community, we must step through the

threshold and begin to live like Him

So that, one day, we might resemble the

Harvesters in every way imaginable

Stunned and amazed, these undeserving,

innocent children walk through these hardships

Unlike us, these children deserve the world, but

in turn, receive nothing

But then their faces, oh so sweet and inviting,

shine bright with faith

Their rays of faith penetrate deep into

humanity’s deceitfulness

And then, foolishly, I gaze at their light and I am

horrified by our complacency

I wish, all of you, will someday look into the

light of their innocence

Maybe one day, with His perspective, you can

come upon a mirror that reflects not ignorance

But the true, boundless, infinite and eternal

love of our God