A Nice Idea

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There's a plaque in downtown Louisville
marking the spot where
Thomas Merton decided
he loved everyone.
In town for a doctor's appointment,
the thought struck him,
right there on the street, that
all these people were "shining like the sun."
It's a nice idea, and one
I'd proclaim myself if I had
the walled-in confines of the cloister
to retreat to.
The safety of solitude, just me
and my silent brothers who,
for reasons of their own
also sought separation,
where from behind the gate, we are
shielded from the headlines and
from having to drive these angry streets and
shielded from neighbors who clearly don't know
what it means to actually be tread on.
On the quiet side of these walls we don't see
the reminders every five minutes
that           all are created in God's image
has surely been taken out of context.