Poetry Corner: "Meritocracy"

I am delighted to welcome my friend Jeremiah Webster back to share a poem. You can listen to him read it in the article voiceover above.

Meritocracy

By: Jeremiah Webster

I swim with my son and daughter at Chism Beach
in the jubilant high weather mark of July
as eagles take ownership of an elegance 
our bobbing heads cannot match 
treading the cold green current of the water’s swerve. 

Formed by the Puget lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, 
Lake Washington ushers one offering after the next 
into the clear haven-depth of the cove: 

trout school, macrophyte, freshwater clam, crawdad,

a procession our ancestors named 
the spoils of divinity,
not for sale.

To think I could merit such a morning, 
own it like a stock option,
possess it in the spirit 
of Ayn Rand or Nietzsche 
selling hook, line, and sinker 
on the shore.  

To think, “Yes, this is the sum 
of my work ethic, poise, and cunning,”
to say back to this elusive 
and feral enchantment, 
“You have been tailored 
to evidence my toil.” 

Only the colonist 
holds dominion 
with a sermon 
of such certainty. 

Only the wicked, 
who prosper 
in the name of Jesus, 
believe such a lie.   
	


This poem first appeared in Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith 
Fall 2025

Learn more about Jeremiah’s work in the virtual interview we did last month. Thanks for stopping by!

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