Hell arrived in America
nobody was looking.
it slipped in thru the cracks
of justice and compassion.
up thru the sewers
then stalked the streets
prowled the alleys of cities
small towns and villages.
digging into the weak
the poor and homeless.
into the meek and veterans
of wars that didn’t kill them.
Hell arrived in America
in the dead of night
celebrating with the greedy
its contempt for the hypocrites
that brought a nation to it knees,
tore families from their home
threw children onto the street,
drove men of might to become
beggars and thieves drove
mothers with babies under bridges
onto park benches
into jails and prisons and food lines.
into missions and in to the arms
of the wicked and self-righteous.
Hell arrived in America
with its icy touch
and froze the hearts
of the rich and wealthy
blinding them to the suffering
blinding them to the despair
of their own people
making them despise the needy
filling them with fear,
teaching their children
to never trust a stranger
forgetting
that we’ve all been strangers
sometimes…somewhere.
forgetting
that even Jesus
was once a stranger.
JAGUAR SPEAKS 