Bricks in exile

After Nehemiah 3:1-32 and Ephesians 2:12-14

I do not know why

I laid bricks in exile,

subject to whims of others:

priests, rulers, captains,

soldiers overseeing

the piling of brick

upon brick, stone

upon stone, an existence

enclosed in crowded walls.

Returning, hearing a call

to rebuild the wall,

my skills employed

to serve and protect, not

to empower and glorify.

Photograph by Rajesh Misra via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.