And, Again, Still I Pray Poem by Jim Yerman

When I was young I attended Catholic school...but while there, along the way
My God was beaten out of me, yet for some reason...I still pray?

I see religions fostering hostility and no longer am I awed
As I watch people hate, maim and kill each other all in the name of god..and still I pray.

I hear young girls and boy kidnapped into sex trafficking…and I think how can this be?
I see refugees around the world so afraid they have to flee…and still I pray.

I see leaders threatening war…do they know this is not a game?
I hear hatred spewing from our leaders mouths…and I feel sad…I feel ashamed…and still I pray.

I see countries, after centuries of war, whose arsenals of death each day increase
Continuing to believe after all this time that war can lead to peace...and still I pray.

I see people destroying or polluting many of our resources here on Earth
who forget, or worse don't care, about its value or its worth..and still I pray.

I see bullying so pervasive it's leading children to suicides
I see dictators abolishing human rights, I see massacres and genocides...and still I pray

For beneath this shroud of sorrow, in a world that's tearing itself apart
I see many people who prove our world still has honor...still has heart.

There is a constant struggle between good and evil and though evil gets more press
Perhaps as each new day begins we need to reassess.

Evilness is more pervasive, more obvious...it's a more visible paradigm
Goodness is more subtle, more inconspicuous and takes a little time.

If you're keeping score between good & evil and what people of the world are choosing
I can't be sure, but I think right now, it's goodness that is losing.

But perhaps one day goodness will prevail...yes...perhaps one day...
Hoping good will overwhelm the bad...ah...perhaps that's why I pray.