BRIDGE ALL THE GAPS

BRIDGE ALL THE GAPS

Bridge all the gaps, in between naps,
Sound the lyre and play the flute.
Do something kind for the poor and destitute.
Use your last breaths for some sort of earthly good,
Even as termites gnaw on the wood,
And buzzards circle in the sky above,
Bridge all the gaps with patience and love.

Bridge all the gaps in this world's gaping teeth,
And find the compassion that lies underneath,
Conservative pundits, would be presidents,
Who would gladly deny the 47 percent.
Say yes to the safety net, God forbid it be you,
Who needs a soft place to land,
After your life savings have fallen through,
The rabbit hole of doctors, a labyrinth of quicksand.

Bridge all the gaps, it's the least you can do,
To narrow the gulf between rich and poor,
To point out the falsehoods, shine a light on what's true,
Bridge all the gaps, what else are you here for?
Is life not more than just a slice of bread,
More than a cup of water?
In America homeless still line the streets,
Children are led like lambs to the slaughter.
And in the end we are called to heed,
All the mouths we did not feed,
The naked that we did not clothe,
Our fellow man in his hour of need.

The soldier we let roam the streets, home and yet unwelcome,
I must confess the dispossessed have become accustomed,
To soup kitchens and to bread lines, like scarlet letters,
The jobless and the hopeless who wear their fears like fetters.
Chained to the past like exiles from the mainstream,
A thinly veiled nightmare their American dream.

Bridge all the gaps in the world's aching soul,
For are we not one world, that longs to be made whole?
Strike down the labels, and turn all the tables,
Of the moneychangers and thieves, all the false gods.
Crush them like serpents with your heel unto the sod.
And if you claim as your own the Christian church,
For what is right and fair you search,
You are ordained and called to answer,
The cries of every scourge and cancer.
Every lost soul on this desolate island,
From lowlands to highlands, we hear their call.
Let there be someday an answer for all.

Bridge all the gaps, play soft your guitar.
And for accompaniment a lyre or flute.
Bang a drum loudly for the poor and destitute,
Even as every bone in your body hurts,
Even as the last breath fails and deserts,
Use it for some sort of earthly good,
Even as the termites gnaw on the wood,
And vultures they circle in the sky up above,
Bridge all the gaps with patience and love.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2013
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Note: A poem about the fiscal cliff that I am just now getting around to posting.