To BELIEVE is to wonder, consider known facts,
study old texts, search through the stacks,
test for validity, research in the lab,
prove the new premise, arrange the tabs
of a scholarly project that makes the case
for new truth to dawn and take its place
in campus halls across the land
where inquisitive minds can understand
the time honored process by which we conceive
the confident statement: “This now I believe!”
To ACT in the way of creation’s design,
to serve and to live in ways that are kind,
move beyond the familiar and seek to engage
the lost and the helpless who pass on life’s stage.
Embrace, comfort, defend, console.
This is the needed sacred role
that does not require a diploma in hand,
just a heart that receives every woman and man.
Believing alone is not the way
to touch the deep needs of people today.
Stand side by side with the poor of the land.
Hear their faint cries. Offer your hand.
Blessing is good. Bread meets a need.
Maybe by both we plant the seeds
that will blossom in justice and challenge greed,
the principal cause of all human need.
Sonoran Desert Writer 