In His Image

The hare-lipped                                       The stillborn

The club-footed                                       The myopically near-sighted

The walleyed                                           The retarded

Those with heart murmurs                      Those with Spina Bifida

The juvenile diabetic                               The hereditarily obese

Those born addicted                                Those without limbs

The dwarfed                                             The congenitally angry

The truly ugly                                          The stone deaf

The scarred                                              The pink-eyed albino

The hermaphrodite                                  The cross-eyed

The miscarried                                        The breech birthed

Those with Down’s Syndrome               Those strangled by their cords

The very mute                                         The dead twin

The Idiot Savant                                     The unwanted

The sterile                                               The illegitimate

Those with dead mothers                        Those with infantile paralysis

The bleeders                                            The fetally undernourished

Those expelled by a kick to the groin     Those larger than the birth canal

Those with cleft palates                          Those full of lead and mercury

The heart murmurers                              The aborted

Those born of rape                                  Those without immune systems

The unresponsive                                    The fish-fingered

The mutant doomed                                The lactose intolerant

The autistic                                             The oxygen starved

The pre-natally infected                          The hopelessly premature

Those born to children                            Those born to prisoners

The very frail                                           The infant cancer victims

Those quickly perishing from unknown causes     Those born without fathers

The unknowingly blind                           The chronically normal

Not So Far From Here

    The December 2004 earthquake released about enough energy to power the United States for six months

Not so far from here a vast destruction rules

          Not so far from here women weep inconsolably

Not too far away parents mourn for their lost children

          Not too far away a little girl sobs for her mother

Far too close the towns are shattered

          Far too close there is mud and dirty water everywhere

Almost here is the overwhelming smell of decaying flesh

          Almost here the artifacts of daily life are strewn about in confusion

Much too near half-naked people wear everything they own

          Much too near the sounds of wailing fill the air

Within our own villages there is no clean water

          Within our own villages we have nothing at all to eat

Not so far from here the cars and buses are scattered and jumbled

          Not so far from here life’s possessions lie broken everywhere

Not too far away the sea has left corpses a mile from its shore

          Not too far away unrecognizable bodies wash up upon the beach

Far too close the injured linger without treatment or even a bit of shade

          Far too close the sun beats upon discolored flesh and broken glass

Almost here a foot protrudes from the shade of a collapsed structure

          Almost here the fishing boats perch upon the ruined houses

Much too near the people are still muddy long days after the great flood

          Much too near the death toll still rises every hour

Within our own villages bulldozers perform burial ceremonies

          Within our own villages relief workers toil without sleeping

Not so far from here salty tears stream down upon their muddy cheeks

          Not so far from here malarial mosquitoes emerge from the flood

Not too far away a glance reveals artifacts from one more destroyed family life

          Not too far away shouts of the living mix with the silence of the dead

Far too close rotting bodies poison drinking water

          Far too close dysentery and cholera shadow dazed survivors

Almost here entire cities must rebuild themselves from beneath total rubble

          Almost here many millions simply have no homes at all

Much too near a man with nothing places one flower upon a single grave

          Much too near the memory of the black water stirs up fear again

Within our villages the living simply have no lives left to resume

          Within our villages the shock numbs people into a mute disbelief

Not so far from here those who fled find nothing to return to

          Not so far from here are too many in need to be helped in time

Not too far away in the heat the flies begin to swarm

          Not too far away roads are bulldozed clear of once-valuable debris

Far too close the hometown landscape has been warped into powerful desolation

          Far too close children have no schools and parents have no jobs

Almost here the aged sit on the streets under plastic tarps

          Almost here wounds fester untreated for everyone to see

Much too near the dead arrive upon the incoming tide along with more plastic debris

          Much too near the bloated bodies decay into anonymity

Within our villages there is no running water or electricity

          Within our villages the great tide filled the land with sewage

Not so far from here there has been no food for many days

          Not so far from here the weaker begin to perish once again

Not too far away the colors of destroyed lives are all of a muddy brown

          Not too far away desperate hands reach out in supplication

Far too close unpaid volunteers work tirelessly for days on end

          Far too close many good spirits have been overwhelmed

Almost here pockets of faith and trust survive

          Almost here video captures this great collage of human suffering

Much too near the once fertile soil is now laced with toxic salts

          Much too near the faithful wonder at the will and mercy of their god

Within our villages orphans cling to each other for support

          Within our villages heroes honor the dead with their service to the living