Hallelujah came
on Sunday
shouting
and stomping
wet eyes

I was a child
innocent
oblivious

a woman runs
past my pew
screaming
in a language
I can’t
understand

“Everything will be okay!”
I cry to her
because I didn’t know
what else to say

my mother orders me
to remain
silent

but…the woman
she is screaming
she is crying
I felt
I needed
to
help

my mother put her hand
over my mouth

I didn’t understand
I felt lost

but I have come
to realize
that

some people
have never appreciated
my concern
for others

– Keith Landrum