The Same Sun

The Same Sun

(“Therefore love your enemies, do good, and lend, looking for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be the children of the Highest. For he is kind to the unkind and to the evil.” Luke 6:35)

Stand a little closer so you can see
the eyes that open like a morning rose.
Every sunrise blossoms,
every petal has its day,
every flower offers its nectar
for the visitors who come to stay.

The neighbor boy is outside dribbling his
basketball in the street shooting hoops like
he’s the last one on the court. The neighbor
girl rides by on her bike with the family’s
Labrador mix leading the way.

Listen a little deeper and you might hear
the paintbrush on the canvas
writing a rhapsody from margin to margin.
You might hear the colors, you might smell the warm,
you might realize the hues and shades
are laid down in layers. You might hear
the same song from down the street as you
did on your first day home from war.

Do not panic, but the same sun that seeks the horizon
shines for your antagonist;
the same rain falls for your adversary;
the same rose smells of dew and love the as
it does for you.

I can tell that doesn’t sit well with you.
I struggle with it too. I swear, though, the eyes
of my enemy
are the same color as at least a dozen friends.
And the children haven’t learned yet to
withhold love based on merit.

I think I’d like to learn to live again and find
every thread the has stitched my heart to yours,
every ray of light that brightens our eyes.