Preferring One Religion Over Another

Kimberly Burnham
2 min readNov 27, 2020

New Poetry Inspired by Current Events and News Articles.

Religious freedom in Jails in Question poetry with Kimberly Burnham by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash

I prefer one religion over another
in America I can choose where and whether I go
to services and how I practice
my belief and connection to the universe
I am free to roam the streets
for whatever events I want
the streets and neighborhoods where I go
are sometimes filled with hate
against me because of how I chose to see
the universe here in America
I do not sit on death row in Alabama
wrapped in my freedom I wonder
why everyone doesn’t have the right
the freedom to practice as we wish
letting other’s do the same

Alabama’s 86 Percent

God forbid that you find yourself
on death row in Alabama
a Muslim, a Jew or a Buddhist
it is like the start of a joke
because you are the one percent
your religious aspiration don’t matter
says the US Supreme Court
giving instead preferential treatment
to your Christian neighbors
in this country that pretends
not to be a theocracy

News Poetry written in response to: Justices Allow Execution of Muslim Death Row Inmate Who Sought Imam

Originally published at http://www.poetry24.co.uk February 22, 2019.

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Kimberly Burnham

Writer, Poet, Ekphrastic Writer-in-Residence, Nerve Whisperer, Brain Health Coach, Author of The Traveling Brain: Illuminating Peace Poetry in 5000 Languages.