For the Tears of Children (Houston)

God, I’ve watched the news,
one report after another;
and to be honest—
I can’t look anymore.
The pain overwhelms me:
the faces of children—
so many children,
lost in the water.
I can’t take it.

Can you?
Are you watching?
Can you hear the desperation—
the cries of children tonight?
Children who just want to go home,
to their room, their bed, their toys.
And it’s there—they can see it,
but it’s a mirage left by water
they can’t understand.

Can you feel the tears of a child,
with every toy, every stuffed animal,
rotting with mold from the flood?
Their best school clothes ready to go,
backpacks filled with supplies.
Or they were—before they left,
they were—before their school flooded.

Tonight, God, I can’t bear the pain, the tears.
I just hope you can.

Amen

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