The Hem of Your Garment

When do we see 
Your Hand move
in time and space? 
Is it only when 
we celebrate 
our victories?
Or is it, when victory 
is denied or prefaced 
with ineffable horror 
and brokenness?

     Moments of glory ---

Did my ancestors 
experience the movement 
of Your Hand in time and space 
as their lives unfolded 
in centuries of bondage? 
What graces did they 
experience dwelling 
in a system built  
on denying their humanity?

     Moments of glory,
     fleeting glimpses ---

How did they manage 
to hold onto the hem 
of Your Garment? 
Kidnapped, shackled, 
chained, transported, 
beaten, sold, maimed,
stripped, raped, lynched, 
ineffable horrors, 
humanity denied, 
dignity aborted.

     Moments of glory,
     fleeting glimpses
     or an abiding presence---

What did it take 
to hold onto the hem 
of Your Garment? 
What compelled them 
to remain connected 
to You, if only 
in the recesses 
of their hearts?

     Moments of glory, 
     fleeting glimpses
     or an abiding presence 
     of Your Grace and Mercy 
     sustained them.

When do we see
Your Hand move
in time and space?
Even when we
do not see
Your Hand move---

     Moments of glory, 
     fleeting glimpses
     or an abiding presence 
     of Your Grace and Mercy 
     sustain us.

Like our ancestors,
we hold onto
the hem of Your Garment
knowing we too are sustained
by Your Grace and Mercy
in and beyond time and space.