The Parishioner Poem by Randy McClave

Church bells rang
Parishioners slowly walked in,
The Choir then sang
"Are we not all without sin".
Churchgoers prepared for the news
With a smile they greeted and gave a Hello,
Then they sat on their reserved pews
They didn't want to go to Hell bellow.
A homeless man then arrived
He wasn't greeted by anyone,
He seemed sad and deprived
But, his faith in humanity was not gone.
No one would shake his hand
As he was seen as old and flawed,
So, alone and rejected he did stand;
In the house of God.
He asked the patrons there for comfort
But, no one had hope or a dollar to give,
He was both broken and also hurt
He wanted to rejoice, and to live.
To the front of the church he went to sit
But, he wasn't allowed to sit there,
As though he did not have a permit
He was rejected by his looks and a stare.
"Church is for the deserved"!
Spoke the Pastor as he stood high on his perch,
But, one thing that no-one observed;
Jesus, was sitting in the back of the Church.

Randy L. McClave