Muting A Fued Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

A concern not there to show,
Should not be expected of it...
Returned without being given,
An incentive.
I give it. You give it back.
What's so difficult about that?

'But I...'

Nor should an ex-con,
Who has experienced...
Being locked up in a prison.
With time to find God,
Expect those who live everyday...
Having their faith tested,
On a daily basis...
Be expected to have more tolerance,
To listen with patience to comprehend...
Someone quick tempered,
Who has been victimized by the 'system'.
Or 'the man' who has the master plan,
To limit further their few freedoms.

'Uh? What? '

When first and foremost,
They should know God is there for them...
All the time not to find.
And not to be found awaiting around,
For someone to express their regret...
To finally accept an acknowledgement,
Of their own kept selfishness.

'Hey...wait one minute.
You hold on right there.
I...'

A concern not there to show,
Should not be expected of it...
Returned without being given,
An incentive.
To later use excuses,
That something else was intended.
Only that which is shown and known,
Is equally returned to get.
It's not complicated. Or abstract.

'First of all,
Without your pointless interruptions.
No time did I spend in prison,
Finding God.
What I said was...
When in the military I read scriptures,
All the time.'

Same thing. What's the difference?
I have had many opportunities,
To take matters into my own hands.
Before I allowed God to appear on the scene,
To intervene.
Chilling me out muting a fued.

'But I was sentenced to a commitment.'

And I did not have to be sentenced,
To know 'who' and 'what'...
I was committed with faith to believe.

'Always. Always, always...
You want to start an argument,
Over an issue or a topic...
To confuse to make it about you.'

It's not about me.
It is about your finding God.
And my knowing God,
Without being locked up.

'And I, not you...
Became closer to God,
While in the military.
Not in a prison.'

And I, not you...
Did not have to find to be found,
My commitment.Okay?

'What difference does it make?
You still haven't proven,
You are a better Christian than I am.'

True.
And who said I was a Christian?
Do I have to be a Christian,
To believe in God? I think not.

'Wha...what is this all about? '

Showing concern.
I thought I made that clear.

'Concern?
Concern about what? '

You figure it out.
You're the 'Christian'.

'Suppose I said I was a Muslim.
Who played a fiddle on the roof?
What then? '

You'd be a confused roof player.
Fiddling around.