Tristan Robert Lange

The Fire, This Time

Jesus still guides—

Always guides—

Mostly away from church,

Encroached upon by

Segregationist salesmen.

Beloved, know this,

Against hypocricsy and fear,

Leaders leverage the truth.

Dead to a homeland

Whitewashed in filth,

Incarceration ain’t incarnation.

Next time? The fire is now!

POET’S NOTE:

An acrostic Scorched Sunday poem. Part of my Scorched Strays collection. Faith has often been used to challenge injustice...and just as often used to defend it. This poem wrestles with the distance between what is proclaimed and what is practiced, between beloved community and exclusion, between incarnation and incarceration. Some contradictions refuse to stay buried. Some fires are still burning, well beyond Beale Street.

First published on tristanrobertlange.com, June 19, 2026.

Tittu