Sanctuary

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.