God:

An Address By Jane Gilgun I have loved you with an everlasting love Therefore I have remained faithful to you. God, if I were to meet you face to face today, what would I say? The Lord God is one Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and might Do not seek revenge or bear grudges Love your neighbor as yourself Face and do not avoid that which frightens you God is with you always Impress this upon your children Talk about this as you lie down when you get up when you walk on the street place a sign in your house on your forehead on your heart Make visible to all Celebrate you despite what else shares our world Your splendor is all around Yes, in the grass, the trees house finches in flowering magnolia Potted morning glory kindly munched from the back so no one on the sidewalk call tell that the rabbit ate part of it for breakfast Dead shrub rose to be uprooted and composted to make way for new growth a gift from a friend dead these ten years Prairie flowers now in the ground hundreds of miles away soon to be shipped to my house butterfly plants, prairie grasses, purple coneflower The bright eyes of children pudgy legs running toward you arms outstretched you in forms of mommy, daddy, auntie, uncle, granny, grampa in actions on swings pumping to the sky catching frogs in the spring woods watching wasps burrowing in scented mud

dragon flies mating in midflight double sets of translucent blue wings aflutter Children shot with bullets from an automatic rifle decapitated bombs dropped on cities where people only want to live their lives Hands clasping hands eyes looking into eyes We hatch, match, and dispatch You are always there Hold me in the palm of your hand Wrap your presence around me I know you already are cheering me on cheering all of life on beckoning, encouraging, loving