At Home

more and more at home he is entering with glad assurance no longer knocking wondering if I will see him as interruption intrusion guest who puts me on my toesmy best behavior politenesswith an edge of tensionwhisking litter out of sightswabbing the sinkshutting a bedroom doormessout of sightout of mind?I used to make sureI paidContinue reading “At Home”

Be One

You prayed your heart that last night, surrounded by eleven men who listened, astonished, and took note. And after you left (having suffered and risen) John remembered to write it down. For me. For us. For more to come.We need to know what yearningyou expressed for health and harmony:that we be one.And it’s the hardestContinue reading “Be One”

Made to Bear Fruit

Chosen: before you spoke the world, the sky, humanity into beingRescued: from my rotting self and destiny of darkness, loss, eternal deathGifted: to do my special part in this Body, your Family, for your purposesSent: to bring the news about the Rescuer to others still hopelessPlanted: just where you want me rooted in your loveContinue reading “Made to Bear Fruit”

Poured Out

I pour out my heart before you and there it lies, a puddle in your golden bowl: scent of sorrow, undertone of angst. You swirl the mixture deftlyand I see the colors whirlto form a spiral carousel:black of blindness, counterpoint of pearlwith an interplay of scarlet(all the dreams I’ve hadnow seasoned and remadeinto a fragrantContinue reading “Poured Out”

Savoring the Moment

Time tumbles forward, water over the cliff, and my life raft is all too quickly swept downstream. January hurtles past,April, May, August . . .I cling to the edgesand try not to swallow days whole, untasted.What is life worthif not lived with purpose?What if I staytuned to winter freezewhen the sun is out?I say noContinue reading “Savoring the Moment”

Call for Urgent Care

Your body, Lord, needs urgent care! Right hand fights against its own left hand. Ears hear different music, east and west. Eyes are bloodshot, crossed and blurred, seeing only what each wants to see. Lungs breathe in polluted air whose fumes push out the Spirit. Legs crossed, the veins bulge, blocked;feet stay firmly rooted, passionContinue reading “Call for Urgent Care”

Unnamed but Chosen

She lived in a land of darkness oppressed by cruel foreigners. She carried deep personal shame: “barren” was her common name. No hope for a descendant! No sign she could conceive! Her husband had not spurned her,his name must have consoled her:“place of rest: Manoah.” So she was quick to tell himthat a God-sent messengerhadContinue reading “Unnamed but Chosen”

The Cleansing

I stand in the wind while it whips along, plastering my body with fine dust, the powdered aftermath of life and death and thirsty earth.Deadwood and seedpodshit the roof, my legs. Birds of prey swoop overheadlooking for the innocent,uncovered, to devour.O Wind of God,protect your own.Hover over, cover us.Breath of Life, strengthen us.Heart of Sun,Continue reading “The Cleansing”

The God Who Parts Waters

The river ahead is at flood stage, water spilling over the edges and onto the shore sand all around, no way to cross, full of sledge. The other side is out of sight. We’ve been stranded three days, waiting for word: what’s next?Now Joshua tells us to break camp.We priests must carry the ark aheadandContinue reading “The God Who Parts Waters”

The Acacia Speaks: I Was Made for This!

When I saw the old man pass us to climb the slope, I shivered as wind blew through our dense grove. He had passed this way not long ago,then spent forty days on the summitbefore angrily stumbling back down.We wondered what was up, and whyhe’d thrown away two stone tabletsfilled with divine fingerprints of light.SomethingContinue reading “The Acacia Speaks: I Was Made for This!”