We The People

by Cathy H. George

Almost everyone on the train is kind.

Can I help you lift that?

Will you watch my bag while I…

Do you want anything from the café car?

I’ll make this call short, promise.

Rummaging for ear buds

our eyes meet we bond over the annoying volume

that person speaks at

Over the loudspeaker our conductor tangles his words

laughs at himself

we laugh with him

Not knowing who voted for whom

We the people momentarily get along—

Knowing we are divided and cut-throat

The train barrels onward

God’s clanging cradle rocks back and forth

lulling us in voter anonymity

For a moment

up the eastern seaboard

differences that make oneness unimaginable

briefly dissolve

we share the same destination

hoping to arrive whole

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The Rev. Dr. Cathy H. George served as a parish priest in urban, rural, and suburban parishes, and as a prison chaplain. Former Associate Dean at Yale Divinity School, she is a graduate of Macalester College, Harvard Divinity School, and Boston University School of Theology. Cathy’s published work includes the book You Are Already Praying; Stories of God at Work (Morehouse Publishing, 2015), a series of daily meditations in The Stillness We Seek; Daily Devotions for Advent (Forward Movement Press, 2015), as well as articles published in the Journal of Pastoral Theology, Anglican Theological Review, and the Yale ISM Review. She works as a teacher and consultant, writes poetry, and creative nonfiction.