On the sidewalk in front of ICE headquarters
on Pittsburgh’s South Side, 50 of us gathered
on a chilly late-October early morning, sun
barely up in the sky, the city just awakening,
and together we prayed and sang and built
human community in the face of inhumanity,
in the face of hatred and secret-police cruelty,
not expecting the hearts of those in power to melt,
but rather to keep our own hearts wide open,
our souls aflame with caring and compassion.
We prayed for justice, for mercy, for kindness.
We prayed for love and dignity for all, for healing,
for understanding, for peace. And the people said,
Amen!
