invisible children

right now i see the sky--
you're staring down the barrel of a soldier's gun.
i push my allies aside--
you cry because you haven't one.

you cry for assistance,
but you cannot make a sound.
i look to Heaven to help you
but all i see is the ground.

i raise my hands to hold you, but
they're filled with something else:
i cannot really love you
if i'm tangled in myself.

but our father holds your hand
through every damp and lonely night
that's spent in the dark
because those like me ignore your plight.

the same sky gives us air,
but this breath could be your last.
if only our pride had not dried up our love:
what happened to the rest?

i promise Christ i'll love the ones
He loves like He loves me.
so why is it i can't see past the
fruit of Adam's tree?

when we could wrap you in our arms,
we sentence you to die.
your life is fading quickly....
we close our eyes.

i raise my heart in offering
but each beat is a song of filth.
how can i love my Father
if i only love myself?

i'm sorry, child, you must depend
on calloused souls like me.
your cries grow stronger, but we say,
"all i can do is breathe."

you raise your small hands
from a mottled dark life
in a desperate cry for help.
you moved us, but instead we slept.

forgive me.