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And the last of the bat
poems is called "To Hope,"

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and it's dedicated to
Christian Peacemaker

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teams and the Langley
Hill Friends Meeting.

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My family and I have been
part of the Quaker community

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for about seven or
eight years now,

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and there had been
a Quaker fellow

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who had been mentioned in the
meetings we had been attending

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named Tom Fox, who was working
with Christian peacemaker

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teams in Iraq and
had disappeared.

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And this was three
or four years ago,

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and I happened to
be in Austin, Texas

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at another writers gathering
where some of the writers here

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among us were also
there as well and had

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seen the bats referenced
in this poem in Austin.

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"To Hope."

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As though sunlight
couldn't kill you.

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As though sex couldn't kill you.

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As though books had never
been covered with human skin.

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As though otters
thrive in the Tigris

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As though peace lay
dormant in marsh mud.

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As though Tom Fox were made
of clay and could be remade.

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If drought therefore taproot.

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If cracked bridge
therefore bat roost.

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Pups by June.

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If communion
therefore Last Supper.

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If lasting hunger
then nightly flights.

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Half a million Mexican free tail
bats flew East above the river,

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spiraling out as though
they'd never eaten.

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