PRAYER
I saw a man
Kneeling & praying
On the corner of
Purgatory Street &
Salvation Ave wearing
An American flag like
A shawl to protect him
From evil
I saw a man in
Utah pouring out
Hate to a crowd of young
Students pretending
To be a good Christian
Man
Interrupted
I’ve seen wars
And bullets screaming
And ripping through
The bodies the flesh of human
Beings both good &
Evil, children in far
Away countries &
Only a few miles away
From the safety of suburbia
And either way?
They all die
For the bullet knows
Nothing about discrimination
The gun, knows even less
Know nothing about racism
Money or greed or the color
Of anyone’s skin
And kills everyone equally
Without remorse
Or mercy
I saw a man kneeling
On the corner of Purgatory
And Salvation kneeling
In an American flag
He poured gasoline
All over himself
And then set himself on fire
Screaming his final words
Love is Dead !
And we’re all going to hell
Create heaven NOW
R.M. Engelhardt is an American poet, writer & author whose work over the last 30 years has been published in a wide number of journals and zines. He currently lives & writes in Upstate NY and is the Editor of the Small Indie Poetry Press Dead Man’s Press Ink. His new book is entitled” NO KINGS ” published in April of 2025.
