From the Summer 2011 issue of The Sower, newsletter of the Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker Farm, Maloy, Iowa
by Mark Kenney, #14018-047
A young man went into the Navy,
He saw things that made him quite crazy
The great weapons of war,
He just could not ignore
His witness to Christ had been lazy.
Missile silos at sea in a sub
Did we really need such a big club?
Targeting towns of our foes,
Should they step on our toes;
We’d nuke ’em right down to the nub.
It certainly seemed something amiss.
Did the Gospel teach something like this?
Was God in this mess:
Or did we egress?
Betray Christ with a nuclear kiss?
Years later, he’s a sittin’ in prison,
For protesting nuclear fission.
To have bombs that were nuke,
He did oft times rebuke,
The Feds ruled with no indecision.
So he sits now, six months in Jail
No hope of reprieve, and no bail,
Three hots and a cot,
Rehabilitated, he’s not,
He continues his quest through the mail.
So with prose from the pen, he doth write.
With a limerick, he tries to bring light.
The good news, he sighs,
Says “No!” to war’s lies.
To be Christian, to be complicit, it’s not right!
He misses those back on a farm
Misses goats who do no one no harm.
It’s a place called Maloy, Iowa
Where folks practice joy,
And live, that we all should disarm.
On April 27, Mark began a six month sentence for trespassing at the Strategic Nuclear Command, Offutt Air Force Base, last August 9.