The Point of Departure

The idea that land is holy
That community is communion
Has been sanctified with tears
Shed by victor and vanquished alike.

Call it what you will:
Expedience,
Penance,
Political posturing,
Just desserts --
But know this:

When the descendants
Of the dispossessed and
The perished
Are forced
Once again
To leave their homes

Then tears reconsecrate
What already is holy,
Just as their salt is absorbed
Into the already salty earth.

May what is left behind
Remain holy
To those who inherit it;

Making way
For the unknown
And giving to one's foe
Are among the greatest
Of spiritual journeys.

May all travelers
Toward this
Uncertain communion
Be blessed.

--Mr. Gobley