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Poem: “In Retrospect”
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Poem: “A Backward Look”
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Poem: “Where Nectar Was”
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Felix Manz
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Covering the Cover: The Violence of Love
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The Case for Meekness
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Letters from Readers
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Learning Generosity in Syria
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A Tireless Peacemaker
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Turning a Corner
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Behind the Black Umbrellas
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With Love We Shall Force Our Brothers
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The Risk of Gentleness
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The Great Escape
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Militant Peacemaking
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Peacemaking Is Political
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Beyond Pacifism
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A Life That Answers War
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Excerpt: Freiheit!
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Did You Kill Anyone?
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Poem: “Candid”
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Poem: “March Thaw”
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The Minimalist
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Call to Prayer, Call to Bread
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Editors’ Picks: Charis in the World of Wonders
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Editors’ Picks: The Reindeer Chronicles
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Editors’ Picks: I Ain’t Marching Anymore
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Editors’ Picks: “Floaters”
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Poetry You Can Touch
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Poem: “Annuals”
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Poem: “The Widow Offers Herself to Life”
Poem: “Mary Magdalen Responds to the Harsh Judge”
By Rhina P. Espaillat
March 16, 2021
Available languages: español
Be honest, please: I long to know
why judging others makes you glad:
does my uncleanness make you sad,
or lift you high as I am low?
Do you intend to heal the bad?
Or is it, rather, your delight
to humiliate and slight
those who are used and spoken of
with cruel contempt and never love,
though they may well please you by night?.
I’ve heard a man from Bethlehem—
a man of peace, both good and humble—
steadies the fallible who stumble,
and if they fall he raises them,
rather than scornfully condemn.
Because he has known pain and fear,
that youthful carpenter holds dear
not just the virtuous but the rest;
at love and counsel both, the best,
by far more tender than severe.
La Magdalena responde a quien juzga con dureza
Si juzgar es lo que gozas,
explícame—y sé sincero—
tu motivo verdadero:
¿Es tildarme de asquerosa?
¿O enseñar a ser virtuosa
la infelíz de mala fama
que se usa y no se ama?
¿O te engrandece humillar—
y en público despreciar—
la que gozas en la cama?
Dicen que en Belén nació
un hombre bueno, apacible—
con piedad hacia el falible:
sostiene al que tropezó
y levanta al que cayó.
Dicen que es buen consejero
ese joven carpintero,
porque conoce el dolor,
sabe juzgar con amor,
y es más tierno que severo.
Read an interview with the poet.
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