The Ballad of the Debtors and Trespassors

There are old country chapels set back from the times
whose quaintness enlivens the heart
and inspires the cadence of old country rhymes
or the light in that old country art.

Though the pews may all creak and the carpets may shed,
renovation is never pursued,
and the sheep in the flock may be very few head
but their faith cannot be misconstrued.

In these parts, they worship with time-honored praise,
the creedo passed down and well-known,
and though they’re aware that there are other ways,
those ways ought best keep to their own.

‘Twas in one such church on one fresh Sunday morn’
when, with hymns sung and pittance plates passed,
and the Lord’s prayer begun, that the standoff was born,
when the debtors and trespassers clashed.

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poem by Adam Hoagland
Added by Poetry Lover
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