I Belong

A Poem for Palm Sunday

Entry into the City by John August Swanson, 1990.

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I Belong
After Matthew 21:1-11

Once a swarm
of the most unlikely
paraded the road
up to Jerusalem—

mothers and children,
tax collectors, and Samaritans—
their appearances and lowliness
flipped tables and raised suspicions.

They followed Jesus—
the One who healed,
who cared, who opened
eyes and saw only
potential.

I never fit in—
at least in the way I wished.
Life’s punchline seemed
uttered in inaccessible language.

But among this crowd, I belong.
Among this crowd, my shouts
resound with rocks and birds
and oceans and the truth is told:

“Jesus is my King.
Jesus is the King.”

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