You and My

You can hold signs and yell,
But you cannot change the direction of my heart.
You can throw a stone, or break my bones,
But you cannot break my will.
You can take my fingers, hands, or legs,
But you cannot take my soul.
You can burn my books, my home, my temple,
But you can never extinguish my internal flame.
You can kill me, my wife, my children, my mother, my father, my brother, my sister,
But you cannot take them from me.
You can destroy this country I hold dear,
But you can never take away my fear.
For my fear is of God and him alone.
And my family is mine, given to me, by him, forever.
And my fire burns from his spirit.
And my soul can only be destroyed by one person, myself.
And my will is as strong as my love, and there exists nothing stronger.
And in my heart all this exists, and has always existed, and will exist forever.

-Rochester Payne