Prayer in the Shadow of Fascism by Colleen Shaddox

Let me be the first one shot.
Enflame me with such truth that my existence is unbearable to them.
Deepen my solidarity with all my siblings, especially in their peril.
Grant me delight in mockery of bogus power.
Send me running across dewy grass toward last embraces.
Give me the strength to sing, bake pies, twirl in the breeze, testify to life.
And as they break down the door, let me love them as myself.
Because the only victory is faith.

Colleen Shaddox is co-author with Joanne Samuel Goldblum of Broke in America: Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty.

Image: Tear gas outside the US Capitol, January 6, 2021. Tyler Merbler / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0