There Is a Balm in Biloxi

A slam poem written by a colleague of some of our workcampers from Sojourners, a social justice advocacy group addressing the intersection of politics and religion.
I think it is an exemplary use of art, and in particular, slam poetry, to address social justice issues--racism, privilege, corruption, reparations, structural violence, housing inequalities, etc. It also raises what for me is a fundamental question of faith: What, as a Christian, am I called to do in response to injustice and inequality? What are all of us called to do? Christians tend to forget, I think, that Jesus had a radical vision of social equality, what amounted to a paradigmatic shift in relation to the societal structures of the day. We also tend to turn a deaf ear to the call of the prophets, who bid us work for the realization of God's Kingdom here on earth. But there's at least one among us who hasn't forgotten... read on. (It's long, but worth it. Read it aloud for maximum effect.)


THERE IS A BALM IN BILOXI
By Ryan Rodrick Beiler (Sojourners)

sleeping on floors feels hard core but
for those keeping score we still float on inflated pads of privilege on
our own terms taken for granted ignoring our
needles in need of breaching by camels can
one coming this far fail to feel something sacred
seeking to serve in solidarity in spite of
spaces made by races made by men who made our faces favored or flogged
bogged down by bigotry backed by bottom lines
lingering long through our history hysterically hateful or
hidden in habits held harmless but hurting us all
already fallen still calling us names we think we’ve forgotten but
we’ve gotten good at acting our parts enjoying the extras even
at the expense of sisters and brothers unseen for a season often
ignored but regularly revealed by verdicts disasters and everyday encounters with
inequality easily seen by sensitive souls insisting on solving impossible impasses
imposing ideals inferred from faithful philosophy’s philos so we foist
friendship on unsuspecting strangers seek
an end to Sunday morning segregation love
without which we are merely clanging cymbals symbolic
pet projects objects of over-compensation self-deprecation or
projected complexes patronizing paternalizing internalizing superiority passed
through pedagogy parents and presidents dead white men well-meaning or
malicious matters less than persistent conditions of
housing projects profiling police prosecutions prisons and lethal injections or
bad personal decision magnified by malignant manifestations of
massive indefensible disparity damned indefinitely by the assumptions made by
insulated insured unsullied suburban soccer moms of Bashan (Amos 4:1)
bovine buffers bearing the burdens of bad choices bleating
boys will be boys unless they’re black or brown in the wrong part of town
then call Sheriff Brown to take them down and keep them down keep
society safely steeped in silent sins of
systems
made of institutions
made of individuals all
influenced by Evil at each level a legacy seen at sea level in
lessons of levees and lack of planning for people impoverished by
inherited inequality unable to evacuate evaluating inadequate options given by
government given to gaps in attention
inattentive to tensions dissentions of disaffected defectors from
40-acre American myths can’t get no
satisfaction reconstruction reparations missing in action
affirmative action losing traction to so-called color blind code words wielded by
angry factions tactlessly asking for tax cuts in times of
domestic disasters and trillion-dollar pre-emptive unending wars on terror
tacitly seeking cancellation of the debt incurred for incalculable costs when our country made a
killing on middle crossings cotton fields and Jim Crow’s crimes
coffers culled from wages withheld
held hostage by America’s mortgage milked from
African
Asian
Mexican and
First Nations
banks bilked by Manifest Destiny’s dealings and stealings
railroaded ripped-off and ransacked of rights these
wrongs written off without so much as an I.O.U. or interest paid apart from
persnickety PC lip-service spackle over status quo cracks yet
cracker and honky don’t hurt half as much as n-word epithets
evidence that personal prejudice produces pain but
power pulls strings that make minorities
hang on every word
while enlightened whites worry and wonder which terms are fair game
gambling on guesses blessed by banter with buddies of color calling themselves
black or African American
Hispanic or Latino
should I be Anglo Caucasian or European American maybe
mzungu or gringo pick your lingo the
bingo of my birth blessed me with booster boot straps while
other brothers were born with bare feet on flood plains so
I can’t complain or claim total credit for
accomplishments built on benefits from the cream of cursed capital
generated by generals and generations of venerated investments
iterations of inverted perverted priorities placing profit over people
invisible hand over fist a flawed foundation for a nation built by
slaves making bricks without straw success fro some is no excuse for abuse to
call theft a blessing is blasphemous so God bless America as
soon as it admits its errors repents and accepts amazing grace shed on
thee a collective wretch like me I
once was blind but now I’m trying to see still
blurry from crying to God of our weary years and silent tears
shed for the martyrs of
Mississippi
Memphis
the Audubon Ballroom and
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church of Birmingham Alabama
where American terrorists blew up black babies we’re still
treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered this
stony road now watered by floods whose
damage we daily dare to audaciously undo
tenaciously graciously grabbing the hem of our Healer who
stops and names us “daughter”
don’t forget getting your Father’s forgiveness means
following Jesus
seeking justice
on the road to Jericho know who is our neighbor love
the least of these as sisters and brothers bearing God’s image in
spite of society’s assumptions or apathy about the broken Body
barriers built by blissful or willful ignorance expressed in
excuses for absence from the banquet of opportunities to build community
begging off to build bigger barns buy land livestock and lovers all
legitimate interests or idols of adulteration of the germination of
the seeds of the Kingdom seen in Revelation all nations offering adoration wonder
what worship style will win out in eternity’s harmonies of liberty hymns
happy clappy contemporary choruses or gospel glory glory glory hallelujah Lord
I want to be in that number when the saints go marching in a multitude from
every tribe and tongue and nation singing salvation belongs to our God and to the
lamb armed only with the sword of his mouth a
messianic message made plain in the Sermon on the Mount count as blessed all
poor pure peacemakers persecuted meek merciful thirsty and hungry for righteousness better
translated justice is at the bending end of the universe’s long arc according to Martin Luther King
so lift every voice and sing
till earth and heaven ring like
on the Sunday when we were all family at
First Missionary Baptist Church of Biloxi Mississippi warm fuzzies
backed by blood sweat and soul food feasts fixed in FEMA trailers
served by seventy-something saints we’re not worthy we’re not worthy given
our history but hospitality helps heal when we place ourselves in the peril of proximity
will we practice this prescription in our parochial priorities or
avoid going places where we’re the minorities much less the authorities
outside our areas of expertise align ourselves with ambitious agendas to
integrate ideal and real risk a mission impossible
resist the impulse to presidentially limit compassion to
faith-based initiative lip-service lacking bottom-line line-item actions and
truth be told I’m often paralyzed by precedent preventing connection
conventional wisdom weakens the will and the flesh follows familiar formulas
conformed to the pattern of this world forming comfortable communities of
mutual affirmation seeking confirmation through
constant commentaries on common controversies unconvicted by
verses advocating unity over and against separated equality degraded identity a
litany of lament Lord let us lay down our burdens and study war no more emancipate us
from stagnant stasis status quo quorums quote us First and Second Corinthians to
convince us that God’s weakness is wiser than worldly wisdom though
we’re well-versed in avoiding implications of the
ministry of reconciliation i.e. redistribution rich made poor for Christ’s sake and imitation and
Mary’s Magnificat vision of the mighty made low lifting the least of these like
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven the revolution will not be spiritualized or rationalized away
Revelation’s real vision is the vindication of justice just as described in Psalm 37
Babylon’s bullets and bullies left behind
the end of evil empires’ industrial complexes we shall overcome
win without weapons waging war not as the world but with the Word of
the sharp-tongued Savior a Lion in a Lamb’s attitude
attacking our Adversary with atoning agape
Lord have mercy when you separate the sheep from goats
gauging love for the least of these of ill-health ill-fed ill-clad or incarcerated
clothed with compassion capable of destroying strongholds disarming arguments against
amazing grace how sweet the sound the
song of a saved slave trader truth stranger than
scripture’s impossible prescriptions no fictions
faith moves mountains or moves us to the mountain top so we can see the promised land
the integrated gospel of personal reconciliation and political liberation free at last lest
our hearts drunk with the wine of the world we forget Thee
facing the rising sun
of our new day begun
let us march on
till victory is won