tower of babel

Here I sit,

In the Tower of Babel,

Silent amidst the sound 

Of espresso machines 

And the beat of the music 

That draws me slowly away 

From my heartbeat 

I know how to queue,

To stay in my place, 

To wait my turn, 

To follow the script,

To pay my dues,

To take what I’m given,

To join the construction, 

To fuel the progress, 

To move along,

Before it all sinks in. 

Still here I sit,

In the Tower of Babel, 

Everything at my fingertips

Except our souls. 

The stones have turned into bread, 

Hot and ready. 

Where did it come from?

We don’t know. 

Miracles satisfy. 

The people on the street are invincible

By all appearances,

Unphased by their leap away from faith,

Enjoying the free-fall,

Like they’re told to. 

I wonder if they fear the height

But stay quiet 

Stay normal 

Except a few 

Who scream

But no one else 

Wants to hear bad news.

Everyone has reasons to believe 

It’s all gonna be fine. 

Empty promises satisfy. 

He offered you all the kingdoms 

All the cities 

All the apartment complexes 

All the universities 

All the malls 

All the hospitals 

All the coffee shops 

All the people 

And you said no. 

We remain a land of darkness,

Happy slaves,

Warm and well-fed. 

What do you offer? 

Freedom from freedom? 

From happiness? 

From plenty? 

What is this freedom? 

To listen,

To hunger, 

To seek, 

To wait. 

So here I sit

In the Tower of Babel 

But there is more.

The child of true humanity 

Deep within. 

A realm unfettered,

Barren.

Empty.

Silent.

But free.

based on the Gospel of Matthew 4 and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene