Egypt Coptic Church Bombing (Faith Will Go On) Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

A religious mind
a devoutness of faith
brings people together
to stand and pray
for a reverence
for an inter-action;
many by their own beliefs
many by their own practices
beseech God for mercy and favors;
sometimes to thank
sometimes for healing
sometimes for blessings
they come, they pray,
they hope and await;
again they come
again they pray
sometimes everyday, every week,
their connection to God
in their own way speaks.
They do not cluster together
to die or to stop their existence;
they come to ask
what they seek and need.
Every man by his own devotion abides
some by praying five times
some by burning candles and incense sticks
some by uttering verses and hymns;
in the ultimate motive
interception of God they seek
for a cure to an illness;
for a blessing
for a bridegroom and bride to unite;
for an opportunity
for a job to an unemployed to start his earnings;
innumerable desires of man
which by their faith they envisage
that only God can give.
They did not come
to the church to die,
they came
to this place of worship
to elevate their faith
and to gloriously
engage themselves with
the teachings of Christ-
to believe in love
forgiveness and peace
while they lived
while they existed
while they prayed.
They did not expect to die
or sacrifice their lives;
in Jesus they had come to rejoice
but as they died
they must have whispered
''Jesus'' so many times.
And though many more may be targeted
for being Christians, for their faith,
will anyone ever be able
to silence those lips
which will always call out to Jesus
from any corner of this world
till earth and eternity lasts?