I keep the laws

After Acts 6:8 – 7:60

I keep the laws

I wash, when I should,

I fast, when I should,

read and listen when I should

he serves the widows at table

I live near, the sacredness

of this place spills over my home

I tithe what I should

He serves the people with love

And you, Stephen, hand me

Scripture and history and

innocence and spirit and

wisdom and the face

of an angel

he serves his Lord in what

he says

I give you stones, cast

I give you stones, thrown

I give you stones, hurled

he serves his Lord in what

he does

stones, Stephen,

stones

he is served stones

Painting of the stoning of St. Stephen by Rembrandt van Rijn, oil on canvas, 1625; Musee des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.