The Petition of Baptiste De Guerre**

The Petition of Baptiste De Guerre

On Behalf of the Poet Jean Ami

And Other Victims of War

 

If there is one thing

I would have you hear,

 

It is this:

 

You created Man in Your image,

And therefore, each man will reflect

A variation of that image to the world.

 

Like You, he will incorporate an urgency to act

With a predilection to imagine and create.

And since he cannot be other than what

These attributes allow him to be,

 

He will be what You meant him to be

 

In perpetual revision, renewal,

Forgetfulness, and wonder.

 

II

 

Each man knows that his universe

Will at times be visible to other men,

And he makes You known by making

His universe available to their scrutiny

 

But he knows that other men will not embrace his universe

Or honor its rules with proper admiration and understanding,

Because they are themselves unique reflections of Your image,

And are therefore bound by the rules that govern their universe.

 

Yet, he joys in the knowledge that his universe

Has always been known and loved by You �"

 

Even those parts of his universe

That he cannot know and are

Forever hidden from him.

 

III

 

Each man is similar to You in that

 

His truth is truth

 

And his life is life.

 

His birth is the advent of time,

And his death brings about

The end of the world.[1]

 

And although a new universe is

Thought to burst upon him when he dies,

He cannot know if this is so because that reality

Is not a part of the universe You allow him to know.

 

Only a drop of hope is given to him,

And all his faith derives from that single drop,

And he has no impetus other than that to go forward.

But my dear friend did make that drop into an ocean

That he navigated in love and constant thanksgiving.

 

IV

 

Each man is responsible for the particulars

That make unique the universe he oversees,

Whether it is base and boorishly dominated

By his physical needs and carnal desires

Or is established upon some other

Nobler array of principles.

 

But it is written that You chose him

And knew his universe since the dawn of time,

 

And thus, every man will return to You

Largely as You envisioned him long ago.

 

Therefore, the details of his universe

Should not be reviewed in the context

Of an epoch which no longer exists.[2]

 

Nor should they be judged against the ascendancy

Of those realities that have not yet come about

And are therefore beyond his ability to know.

 

For only in the pure and unchanging light,

Imparted through the testimony and sacrifice

Of Your Son, Jesus, can a man be truly known.

This I say on Jean’s behalf �"

His universe was structured

As is nearly the same as Yours,

And none of its primary attributes

Derived from a base or darkling realm.

 

The intrigues, frauds, and tragedies

Of his earthly existence are no fewer parts

Of the universe that You imagined for him.

 

And his brief drama was acted out

Entirely upon Your stage -Not his.

For his universe was created by You

And known by You even before You

Allowed him to fill it with particulars.

 

He suffered in his role as Your creation,

As he was made to live among shadows

That diminished his every good intention,

Even as they did Your happy realm of Eden.

 

But still, he loved You and clung to

The hope of Your promised salvation,

Despite his sorrow in having failed You

In every fair condition of Your compact.

For so great was his faith in Your Being,

That even those that fell to his sword

Were thought to have perished

By the justice of a greater,

More valued mind.

 

Yes, even those he slighted, wronged

Or betrayed in mortal consequence

Were believed to have played

Only minor roles in an epic

That was specifically

Yours and his.

And my dear friend was like an angel,

According to Your edicts and Your word.

 

When wrongs were done, guilt was felt,

Confession followed with tears of penance,

And a faith made stronger by its exercise.

 

When good transpired, he did not

Build an arch in honor of himself.

For he came to know that no heart

Corrupted by the physical world

Can engender objective goodness.

 

V

 

And know how easily his obedience came

To the first of Your two great commandments:

 

For Your words were the bread of life to him;

And loving You was always in his nature.

 

Only in the second of Your commands

Did Jean Ami offend Your will,

 

As loving Man was in part precluded

By his fealty to You, Oh, Lord!

 

How could he condone

What he believed to be

Unrighteous in a man?

 

And how could he ignore

What he knew You judged

Unrighteous in us all?

 

He loved as best he could.

 

For although he was of holy origin,

He was not holy in and of himself like You,

 

But only made to recognize what is holy

In a world that punished him for doing so.

 

What he was capable of loving, he Loved

And then, in greater part, to please You:

 

For King David’s psalm sayeth,

 

“You lead me in the path of righteousness

 

For Your name’s sake:”

 

And in that great commission,

My friend was ever true.

 

VI

 

I close with this confession, Lord of Justice,

 

Knowing that I only recount

What is well-known to You.

 

But certain things must not reflect

Upon the friend for whom I speak,

 

But only upon that universe

That belongs specifically to me.

 

For though indeed, we shared a certain sin,

His heart proved not as rank as was my own