National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths Poem Options

Beloved Community: A Vision for Child Advocacy Speech (by Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson)

These poems rise from the sacred ground of Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson’s prophetic charge in Beloved Community: A Vision for Child Advocacy. His words were not simply spoken—they were sown, like seeds of justice in fertile soil. In his vision, love is more than a feeling; it is an ethic, a framework, a force—soft enough to cradle grief, fierce enough to shape policy, and holy enough to imagine joy for every child.

Each poem gathered here is a response—a prayer, a dance, a declaration. They echo the call to move from survival to thriving, to build sanctuaries instead of systems, to let children’s laughter be our liturgy. Rooted in Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson’s vision, they remind us that advocacy is not just political work, but pastoral work. Not just strategy, but spirit.

Let these words serve as witness and offering—as breath for the movement, balm for the weary, and blueprint for beloved community.

Poems by ashlove, MSW, MDiv

LOVE AS THE GOVERNING ETHIC

Poem 1

Love is the ethic that builds bridges
across bulldozed dreams.
It is the covenant written
on the doorsteps of policy and prayer.
It shows up with open arms and steady feet—
saying with its whole self,
You will not pass
until the children can.

Poem 2

Dance with love
in sunshine
and purple mirrors—
where justice reflects
and children rise.

Let love guide
each dance.

FROM SURVIVAL TO THRIVING

Poem 1

We are done with survival.
We are done with the bare minimum.
We speak the language of gardens now,
of sun-drenched play and full bellies,
of test scores that do not measure joy,
and schools that preach freedom
in every hallway.

Poem 2

Fly, dragonfly, fly—
from the block
to the mountain.

Wings born in water,
reaching for sun.

Let every child,
let them soar.
Soar, soar.

THE SOUND OF HEALTHY CHILDREN / JOY

Poem 1

The strength of a people
is not measured in profit or power,
but in the laughter of its children.
In neighborhoods where joy is rare,
we plant it like seeds.
We water it with justice.
We wait for giggles to bloom.

Poem 2

Speak, children,
of dreams and wonder—

of skies that listen,
of fields that laugh with you.

Let your joy be loud
as church tambourines.

You are the measure
of a well community.
You are the sermon
we should be preaching.

SANCTUARY / SAFETY

Poem 1

Let the church be more than a steeple—
let it be a shield.
Let the school be more than a system—
let it be sanctuary.
Let every block
be a borderless harbor
where no child
must prove they are worthy.

Poem 2

Pink, purple, green,
blue, and yellow—
chalk lines, swing sets,
laughter that echoes.

Let parks be peace,
fields wide and clear,
every child knowing:
you are safe here.

POLICY & JUSTICE / BELOVED COMMUNITY

Poem 1

A child is not a project.
Not a number in a file.
A child is the breath of God
made visible.
The future wrapped in love.
The next psalm
still learning its rhythm.

Poem 2

All over me
is love—beloved community—
woven through policy,
threaded in law,
a table prepared
for every child.

Not justice imagined,
but justice lived—
care written into
the cloth of us.

These poems can be read, chanted, preached, or recited as a group.