The below piece was written for my church's (Imago Dei in Peoria, IL, as referenced in the words) weekly article. In the Dies Irae section of a requiem mass, some of the lyrics are Pie Jesu domine; dona eis requiem, which translates roughly to King Lord Jesus, grant them peace. Generally this "peace" is assumed to mean "rest", as a requiem mass is written for the dead. I took some liberties and considered the translation of "peace" as "Shalom", which is a more encompassing peace than rest. Shalom is reconciliation, where everything wrong is set to right again.
"Requiem for the Living Dead"
For the Cambodian girl, 12-years-old;
Snatched from her parents, stolen from home
Sold into slavery, beaten and mugged.
Forced prostitution, raped and drugged.
They've taken her innocence, taken her pride.
Taken her dignity, taken her life.
Given her nothing but fear and disease.
King Lord Jesus, grant her peace.
For the 10-year-old boy, manufacturing our phones
80-hour work week, for a couple of bones,
Sweat dripping down from his innocent face,
As he burns his fingers and struggles to pick up the pace,
All at the call of a violent master,
Who cracks the whip harder and beats the drum faster.
Just so his family has enough food to eat.
King Lord Jesus, grant him peace.
For the alcoholic workaholic suffocating in debt,
Trying to fill the holes in her soul with belongings and success
Rung by rung, as she ascends upon the corporate ladder
Only to discover isolation on her tower
Drinking down her sorrows to cover her afflictions,
She loses her identity to numbness and addiction
It’s the only way she knows to find some kind of release.
King Lord Jesus, grant her peace.
For the dehydrated and the drowning, the starving and the gluttons,
For the peace keepers, and for the people with their fingers on the button,
For the death row inmates, those falsely imprisoned and those guilty of their crimes,
For those with the hearts of poets but the voices of mimes,
For those who are thriving and those who are barely surviving, and everyone else in between;
King Lord Jesus, grant them peace.
For the Buddhist and the Muslim and the atheist and Jew;
For those awaiting your return and those who do not know you
For those who need your justice, your mercy, or your truth.
For those of us who can't escape the cycle of abuse,
For those who try to walk in light, but stumble in the dark
For your body at Imago, and for your bride at large,
For the helpless, and the hopeless, and for the least of these,
King Lord Jesus, grant us peace.
