This is one of my
favorite penstemons. It is a hybrid from shrubby Oregon
native Dasantheras, P. rupicola and P. fruticosus and
who knows what else. With it I have written a poem to
share my feelings.
In
Memory of Those Slain by Injustice
Religion becomes a cudgel
In a way no compassionate Leader
Could ever have intended.
Zealotry forsakes humanity
When ideals, institutions,
And false morals
Become more important
Than people's welfare.
Now another senseless murder
Of innocent gay men
Tears our hearts asunder.
Do we try and hide from hatred?
Not wanting to fight do we flee?
Yet not wanting to enable, we face those who hate
With all the courage we can manage
And go on in a world where beauty
And love
Must shine through.
We learn not to meet hate with hate
Yet to allow ourselves to feel honest outrage.
No matter how the sting of hatred
Attempts to paralyze,
We must not see ourselves as victims.
Martin Luther King said, "True peace is not
the absence of tension.
It is the presence of justice"
We must all
Love one another
And work together for justice
And fairness.
Louise Parsons
Corvallis, Oregon
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