I don’t pray for any child to have to pay
a bad price for bad parents.
I don’t wish for any sins of the fathers
to be visited upon their generations. Let the innocent
bear only the reward of their innocence.
Instead, I petition only that all offenders
be reminded of their sins every hour.
Let the selfish be haunted by their ways.
Let their eye-sockets grow dark and hollow.
The absence of the Lord’s presence is a far worse
punishment than anything accomplished by smiting.
I don’t focus on a God of vengeance.
I don’t want revenge on my enemies—
no broken teeth, no gnashing of physical pain.
I wish the death of no one. I wish the harm of no one,
but that the Lord lead the wicked
only to repentance and a changed heart.
The gutter of their own lives is punishment alright.
But only let them realize this.
Let them inherit a living death called insight.
Samaras, Nicholas "Psalm of the Modern Psalm" American Psalm, World Psalm. Ashland: The Ashland Poetry Press, 2014. 51.
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