Tables Turned
By Nathan Brown
Bless the refuge…
and her child.
may they find pillows
and a blanket, and may
they find a place to lay
them down for tonight.
And may she see a star—
one her child is too young
to understand, but that she
knows represents her hope.
And, under that same star,
may we treat them the way
we’d hope to be treated by
those like her when the U.S.
turns to a string of Walmarts
with big bomb craters all over
their parking lots that we burn
trash and tires in to stay warm.
May we find it in our pantries
to scrounge her up some food,
since we are indeed getting a little
pudgy around the edges anyway.
And if the nights become too cold,
may we take down our starry flag
and drape it over their blankets
since — even though it took us
a while — we’ve finally begun
to understand what matters.
— By Nathan Brown. This poem is from a book of his poems, An Honest Day’s Prayer. Nathan Brown is a singer-songwriter, award winning poet, and author of roughly sixteen books. He served as the Oklahoma Poet Laureate from 2013 to 2014. He now lives with his wife, Ashley, in Wimberley, Texas from whence he travels for readings, performances, and creativity workshops. He can be reached at nub@ou.edu
—A note from the editor, Pat Anderson:
Christian Ethics Today would like to send you a copy of Nathan Brown’s book of poems, An Honest Day’s Prayer in appreciation for your gift to help support the journal. Also, if you are like me and would like to purchase additional copies of this or other books of Nathan’s to give as Christmas gifts to friends and family, go to www.mezpress.com/nathanbrown.
