Salvation - A short essay by Langston Hughes

[tailor STATELY]

I see Hughes as a recorder of the human condition. One doesn't need courage to record thoughts nor impressions nor experiences in Hughes' world. What I found profoundly sad in the essay/story was the child not standing up for his/her convictions, not being true to the self, and then blaming the Savior. The child was definitely not spiritually mature nor able to process what was transpiring. Some never are, ever seeking 'signs'.

IMHO parental figures need to teach their faith to the best of their abilities lest the world sees fit to do so otherwise. Each of us will ultimately find our own path, faith or none.

I'm just tired of having to tiptoe around people I care about because, basically, they're insane.

... Again " to thy own self be true." -Wm. Shakespeare. If you are so convinced you have the upper ground why tiptoe ? Draw a line in the sand and live with it (insert irony here). I do take exception that the faithful are all insane, or (tongue in cheek) do I infer incorrectly and that it's only the people you care about that are insane ?

As a person of faith I found the following poems uplifting:

Feet o' Jesus

At the feet o' Jesus,
Sorrow like a sea.
Lordy, let yo' mercy
Come driftin' down on me.

At the feet o' Jesus
At yo' feet I stand.
O, ma little Jesus,
Please reach out yo' hand.

- Langston Hughes

Ma Lord

They howled 'til Pilate
Sent dear Jesus out.
Ma Lord ain't no stuck-up man.
Ma Lord, he ain't proud.
When he goes a-walkin'
He gives me his hand.
"You ma friend," he 'lowed.

Ma Lord knowed what it was to work.
He knowed how to pray.
Ma Lord's life was trouble, too,
Trouble every day.

Ma Lord ain't no stuck-up man.
He's a friend o' mine.
When He went to heaben,
His soul on fire,
He tole me I was gwine.
He said, "Sho you'll come wid Me
An' be ma friend through eternity."

- Langston Hughes

Sea Charm

Sea charm
The sea's own children
Do not understand.
They know
But that the sea is strong
Like God's hand.
They know
But that sea wind is sweet
Like God's breath,
And that the sea holds
A wide, deep death.

- Langston Hughes


Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[JLove317]

The problem is every religious group believes without any doubt that morality comes only from its own religion. That's not true, because basic moral standards like charity, kindness, killing prohibition-except for justified reasons which vary from country to another-, stealth prohibition, etc. have evolved naturally over the years between humans. The proof is that each religious group or even atheistic group has both good and bad individuals. That belief makes parents try to teach their children moral standards by religion, forgetting other bad stuff and experiences that children could face.

Yes, it's like Prot says in K-PAX, "Every being in the universe knows right from wrong, Doctor Powell." We don't need religion to set guidelines on decent moral behavior as it has, as you say, "evolved naturally over the years between humans."

[JLove317]

clever. I'm sorry you went through this also. But thanks for sharing the short story, I love Langston Hughes. I love one short story by him (forgot the name of it) that has to do with a boy stealing from an older woman, and how she gives him a lesson in kindness- it takes place in Harlem. It has quite a message.

The story is "Thank You, Ma'am," and it is indeed a wonderful story. It can found online to read again in pdf form if you search for it.