We come to understand
that we are holy,
not in closing ourselves off,
not in excluding anyone,
but in refusal to be anything but kind
and in insistence on keeping our light shining
and bearing witness
to every other light
and not permitting any
to be snuffed out

We come to understand
that this is our protection —
not in hiding but in standing up
to any imposition on our wholeness.
We will not allow ourselves
to be unloving or untrue,
and this will bring all impostors down.

©Wendy Mulhern
December 24, 2016