Poem: Voices Crying Out

Everywhere I go
I hear the voices crying out:
Voices of women;
Voices of children;
Voices of many sexualities;
Voices of all races;
Voices of all cultures;
Voices of the lost;
Voices on the margins.
They cry out for justice;
They cry out for hope;
They cry out for love.
Some hear them
And turn away
Or tell them
To deal with it
On their own.
Some don’t hear the voices
At all.
I hear the voices
And my heart breaks.
I try to stand with them
Encourage them.
But some fights
I’m not invited to
Some fights
I can’t fight.
I cry out to the Lord,
“Help me
To help them more.”
The Lord answers me,
“Beloved one
You are helping.
Sometimes listening
Paying attention
Is exactly the help they need.”