Tag: poems

The Comet

I’ve been looking eagerly for the comet
our orbits overlap

Now and then our paths cross

Right there – to gaze into it and see it gaze back
Such a wonder, such a beauty
Years of waiting

And yet a cloudy haze shields us from one another
And I look directly but do not see it
And I hope it will peek through
And see me

Belva

She’d rather know what you are interested in
than tell you what to be interested in.

She’d rather pause to hear you respond
than answer.

She’d rather root for you on your choices
than tell you where you need to go or what you need to do.

She’d rather find something good about it
than share in the community of complaining about it.

She’d rather give a second chance
than hold a grudge against it.

And she assumed the best of intentions
when she disagreed with it.

She was someone you looked forward to seeing
and left glad when you did.

We knew her soft disarming laugh.

To a frustrated heart
she brought a smile.

She was a refreshing sweetness in a bitter sea and her optimism and kindness inspires me and challenges me.

sorry i killed your cat

the other day when carrying it
your cat dug its claws into me
i overreacted and sadly triggered
the defenestration of paws

when a cat is afraid
out go their hooks
and they reach for anything
stable so they don’t fall

and now i’m sorry I took this
act of aggression
for more than it was a
cry for help

you can’t get mad
at a scaredy cat
while being one yourself

i promise
i will buy you a puppy

photo credit belongs to Evan Sharboneau on Flickr

a prayer for when climbing through the thorns

dear heavenly father,

you told me this would happen
you told me that when i took my gaze off of you
that i would veer and get lost
and end up in the slough of despond

in my pride i forged my own path
because it seemed better
because i didn’t know where to look
because i had no idea

then came the weeds and
then came the thorns and
then they pierced me hard and
then i was hurt and cold and then

where were you?
i hurt so much and the pain was so loud
it was so loud i couldn’t see you
it hurt so much it’s all i could feel

so the hurt broke me more
no matter how hard i tried
so the broke me hurt more
no matter how hard i tried

lost and in the desert
alone and without help
hopeless yearning for light
proud and still fighting

this is what you told me would happen
this is your answer to my question
how is man to humble himself before God?
what more could i possibly do?

???

silence
darkness
fear
doubt

!!!

in the arena
the only fight worth fighting
with everything on the line
there was nothing i could do

i could do nothing
i was powerless
i was defeated
i was humbled

…

you told me this would happen
you told me that when i cast my gaze on you
that you would restore me
and give my feet their way

your word is a light unto my path
because you are gracious
because your mercy knows no limit
because wisdom is fearing you

then your love is enough
then your reward is enough
then trusting in you is enough
then in the storm you shelter and then

there you are!
my pain is fierce but i am alive
you give life freely
you have overcome death

so trust in you healed me
no matter how great the pain
so healed me trusts in you
no matter how perilous the route

sorry for running away
repentant for every choice
grateful to find my way home
humbled and still fighting

this is what you told me would happen
this is your gift and promise
if i should walk humbly before you
if i should cast my gaze on you

***

peace
purpose
love
trust

~~~

in the arena
the only fight worth fighting
with everything on the line
you are the victor

you have done all things
you can do all things
you are victorious
you are my strength

…

trust and obey
in you i will trust
your words will i obey
there’s simply no other way

amen.

Fake News is not our problem

some have told me that fake news did it
that there was no chance
that faceter and twitbook made us
believe it

some have told me that we must forbid
that an alarm should sound to eliminate
that no alternative fact exist lest we
believe it

some have stirred to try and prevent it
that the algorithms see through
that the censor do its work and
hide it

some have stirred to ask, what must we
that people not see it
that the reader not read it
hide it

but I do not blame the lie
because it was always there
just as the pasture gate leads away
from the highway and into the field
and from the field and into the pasture
and from the pasture and into the slop

the signs lead the way
once we may be fooled
but twice is on us
as the saying goes
and from the noise and into the discourse
and from the discourse and into our mind

some have challenged me to come and reason
that I may discern my path
that I might oblige my duty
question it

some have challenged my entitlement
that my feet may learn the path
that my way not be misled in the dark
probe it

some have challenged my response
that we not simply believe
that we not hide and cower
that we filter the noise
that we treasure our minds 
that we question
that we probe
that we ask
that