• “Why do you love?”
    I asked Jeremiah, although
    Hear me he cannot, see me he cannot.
    Or can he?

    Far beyond the gates of death,
    Perhaps he can hear me yet.
    Perhaps his ghost stands by me now.
    Perhaps… he knows who I am.

    “Your people betrayed you,” I continued.
    “The once benevolent nation, beloved by God,
    Is now malevolent in the shadow of their sin.
    They betrayed you and your God.

    “Turn your back on them.
    No good can come from what has gone bad.
    Yet you pray and pray
    For their deliverance, and not their downfall.”

    “Why do you love?”
    I am asked in return,
    Maybe Jeremiah, a spirit from the grave,
    Or more likely God, who loves me.

    The God who knows what I’ve done,
    Who I am, who I’ve been, and who I will be.
    The God who knows my past,
    The God who knows my future.

    “Your people betrayed you,” He continued.
    “The once amazing ‘friends,’ who you depended on,
    Are now abandoning you in the shadow of their selfishness.
    They betrayed you and your God.

    “Turn your back on them.
    No good can come from what has gone bad.
    Yet you pray and pray
    For their deliverance, and not their downfall.”

    “I love those who hate me,”
    I answer the voice,
    Suddenly realizing,
    The answer to my own question.

    I had the answer all along,
    Jeremiah isn’t a stranger to me,
    But a kindred spirit.
    The ones like me confuse me the most.

    “I love those who hate me,” I continued.
    “I bless those who curse me,
    I do as I am told,
    I am no hypocrite.

    “While I have every right
    To back-stab as I’ve been wronged,
    I pray and pray
    For their deliverance, and not their downfall.”