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Out of the mouths of Holy Innocents

the wailings of our weakness,

our Herod knees bent now

the better to swallow

the words we’ve wallowed in,

the tug-and-pull of the womb

across the clinic’s lintel.

In Rama there is weeping,

in Charleston, in Bismark,

in Portland, in Trenton,

in Pittsbugh, in New Orleans,

in Santa Rosa, in the thin sac that holds us

from heaven. There is weeping

for the waste we so covetously cradle

as our rights, that we so vehemently sing

as the holy holly bough is breaking.

Dear Reader,

You have a decision to make: double or nothing.

For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.

In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.

So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?

Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
GIVE NOW