when you wake up mean
you’re in a place you
don’t want to be

voices flare as men
argue in a store
over things they don’t
need
the temperature feels like
hell on earth
men kill each other over
turf they don’t own

a soldier dodges bullets
and fires back from behind a wall
but it’s from south side, chicago
not afghanistan

and i wonder does god show his face?

last week, i lamented turning another
year older
i mourned the loss of my youth
today i read an article about a man
who went to the  movies on his birthday

another man made intellectualism
his god, and when his god failed
he fired his tears into that theatre crowd
now, that man will be 27 forever

does god ever show his face?

nations go broke and
people lose their homes
a t.v. camera focuses on a reality star
who finds her god in pills

and does god ever show his face?

but a man got a job
(in this economy)
and children are playing in the stream
of a fire hydrant
a church feeds people
in grant park
i thank god for waking me up
every day
at least i know he still loves me

i see a baby in a stroller
as i’m riding the bus
i pity him for he’ll inherit
this world
but his mom says he’ll be strong enough
to deal with it all

and i know god shows his face all the time

— Erren Geraud Kelly