To honor the memory of Brandon Bernard, who was executed by the United States federal government on December 10, 2020

Wooters, Matt, SJ

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Scholar Commons - Santa Clara University

New Horizons Volume 5 Issue 1 Article 13 2021 Revised Psalm 16 Matt Wooters SJ Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/newhorizons Recommended Citation Wooters, Matt SJ (2021) "Revised Psalm 16," New Horizons: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1 , Article 13. Available at: https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/newhorizons/vol5/iss1/13 This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Horizons by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact rscroggin@scu.edu. Be with me, God. They are going to kill me. All of them. Everyone who pays taxes, all 141 million ofthem are paying for the poison that will destroy the body that you built.  But my eyes are on you. You keep me warm in this cold, solitary cell.They call it justice. They call this law and order. But my eyes are on you. This blood sport. Thismodern-day lynching. Another black body taken from his mother. But my eyes are on you. But I know this is not the end. My end is with you. When they are mopping the death chamber of myblood, sweat, piss and shit after they kill me. I will be with you. I keep you always in my mind. I feel sorry for them, Lord. They think they are you. They think they can arbitrate who is killed.Unlike them, I know I am a sinner. I know that I have done bad things, I’ve spent my whole adult liferepenting. I know that is not the fullness of who I am. I rest in you. Forevermore, I will be with you in joy. Forevermore, my blood is on their hands and their tax formsand their ballots. Forgive them… for they know exactly what they are doing.Revised Psalm 16To honor the memory of Brandon Bernard, who was executed by the United Statesfederal government on December 10, 2020.By Matt Wooters, SJ48 1Wooters: Revised Psalm 16Published by Scholar Commons, 2021

Revised Psalm 16

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Revised Psalm 16

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