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All these are mine

And these, all these are mine
I know each sinew of their small frames
I hear their fear at night
I watch their fun
And when they laugh, so do I
in joy I see them invent themselves
even their shyness is a delight to me
I cherish their innocence
And these, all these are mine.
And if, when I return
I find just one who has been defiled
One desecrated by your corruption
One invaded by your lust
One chained to your perversion
One burgled of purity
One dominated by your tyranny
One diseased through your indulgence
One famished by your inequity
One reliant on your base favours
One separated from Me through your wicked fancy,
One, who once was Mine
Then I promise
You will never see the sun again
All you will receive is darkness
It will have no end
And you will not know peace
It will be terrible and just on that day
Because these, all these are Mine.

STEWART HENDERSON
(From the Tear Fund video and stage production: Broken Image)

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