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As Yourself

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Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

I spend a lot of time in my head, thinking, stressing, humming, daydreaming, and reading. Just as music can get stuck in your mind, a Bible verse can be equally haunting. I've had many moments when a particular verse clings to me like a parasite.

I’m not sure how others cope with these moments, but I know how I do...

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Inspired by Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Let go the clenched fist, the smoldering weight of old wrongs, for vengeance is a shadow that dims the light in us all. See the stranger’s eyes— they mirror your own quiet hopes, their heart beats as yours, a rhythm of shared, fragile dreams. Love them as you would cradle your own weary soul, with patience, with grace, a warmth that needs no name. In this act, we rise, neighbors bound by simple truth: to love is to live, and living, we touch the divine.

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Tom Woody

Date: 4/27/2025 4:30:00 PM

Great Bible verse and poetic follow up. Jesus said it best: Turn the other cheek and love your enemy.

Joel Hawksley
Date: 4/29/2025 3:04:00 AM

Thank you, Tom. I agree with you. I shared this because I felt so good writing the manuscript for "The Word Made Poem" that I had to share at least one of the poems with the PoetrySoup family.