To Disavow Hatred
Father, I will not hate
Though bitterness may scald
Vile, transgressive, this so-called
Islamic State.
Father, they are not men
Who walk upright in thee,
Willing to kill in murderous spree
And kill again.
"Thou shalt not kill" thou hast
Instructed in thy word,
But they, with scimitar and sword
Away law cast.
Father, thy Son hath taught
I must forgive, and so
Let my footsteps behind his go,
Or faith were naught.
They are not men, nor lovers
Of thee in their transgression--
What hells they make beyond confession
Heaven discovers.