Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church

By John I. Blair 

 

For miles along the lonely road
It witnesses across the fields
That Simon Menno’s faith
Still thrives in Kansas.

Refusing to bear arms,
Denying violence and war,
Led these true believers
To Russian steppes

And earlier than that
To Prussian floodplains
And the windswept coast
Of Holland. How often

Have they fled their homes
And moved to strange horizons,
Stubbornly in search of peace
Wherever it survived?

They’ve lived here now
As long as anyplace,
But still don’t own
A guarantee.

©2006 John I. Blair

 Pic: the church that inspired the poem.

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