Sanctuary; refuge.
Sanctuary; safety.
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This word has been soiled
Daggers hung from its neck
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“We will not be a Sanctuary City or country-”
You say-
Will you praise your god in your next breath?
I’m waiting for the words, to snake from your mouth
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Refugees cry out, “sanctuary!”
And you slam shut the temple doors
Singing prayers of grace
For whom, might I ask?
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Heaven’s gate;
The one you long for
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Heaven’s gate;
Whose ticket you yearn for
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Will it be a place of sanctuary—
Open for you and yours?
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Or, will you stare at the same doors
Closed tightly before your nose
Crying for the same refuge
Your ears fall deaf to?
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Will the blessed turn their faces from you, too?
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Will the angels of liberty snicker
Will they laugh at your shaking hands?
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And how then, I wonder—
Will you feel?
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With your paper crowns crumpled in your fists
Will you, in your desperation
Beg for a lamp at the golden door?
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You will cry for sanctuary, I imagine
Weep for grace
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The Christian god’s lords and ladies
At their knees, pleading
For sanctuary;
The audacity.