Gathering

 

Here is the good news
for the bound up and the oppressed
the silenced and the forgotten
the patient and the restless
the hurt and the whole

Here is the good news
for those who have forgotten they are loved
who cannot recollect the last time they hoped
or no longer recognise the word ‘justice’

Here is the good news
for those at the end of the line
at the bottom of the heap
on the back of the page
whose names have been left off the beautiful list
and cannot be found in the footnotes of the world

Here is the good news for those on the other side of the wall
whose status isn’t recognised
who find no right to residency
for those who are hungry for bread
for justice
and for a word
that choses flesh and a relationship
rather than a rulebook and a dogma

For you
the kingdom is open
what the prophets promised
is being revealed
in your hearing