See that man
lying crushed beside the road?
He was a prophet,
run over by someone
too terrified to hear
his words of liberation.

See that woman
strung up on the fence?
She was a prophet;
they used her rainbow ribbons
of equality and unity
to bind her to the wire.
She threatened
the mavens of conformity,
the preachers of the status quo.

For what will you sacrifice
your one, prophetic life?

Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.