posting poetic prose
01 Jul 2022 2 Comments
in free verse, prayer Tags: corn, drought, heaven, prayer, rain
Lord, do you hear the corn?
parched leaves curl inward
desperate to conserve moisture
green tips point up, reaching
toward heaven’s hot expanse
in dry plea for relief
do i see small rain cloud form?
hear faint rumble of distant thunder?
oh, yes and amen
crops thank you in advance
faith grows greener
18 Mar 2020 6 Comments
in free verse, prayer, worship Tags: breathe, coronavirus, God, heartbeat, prayer, sanctuary
close restaurants
and coffee shops,
take away my chai
latte and stuffed crab,
hang the last TP rolls
from nearest tree, and
cancel church services
even if infected with
coronavirus at home
(my childhood home
was on corona street)
& quarantined, i will
yet have a sanctuary
for my heart to rest
within the soul’s home
found in Yahweh/God
whose name is breath;
i breathe His presence
as close as a heartbeat,
prayers whispered and
translated by the Spirit
forever and ever amen.
28 Oct 2018 12 Comments
In sympathy with families of Jewish victims at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
worshipers struck down—
husband/wife
brothers
doctor
how long, O Lord?
madman with weapons—
radicalized
paranoid
hateful
how long, O Lord?
anti-semitic violence—
old testament
middle ages
world war
how long, O Lord?
__________
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted…” (Psalm 34:18a)
28 Jun 2017 11 Comments
in free verse, prayer Tags: blessing, God, Irish, poets, prophets
Paul at dVerse suggested “blessing poems”. Here are my thoughts…
At our wedding reception, a couple sang an Irish Blessing, which was later read at our second son & bride’s reception. (We’re not Irish but the sentiments are beautiful):
At the end of a worship service, a pastor usually gives a blessing (benediction) such as:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26
_______
“Give blessing” and “say grace” are synonyms for prayer. At home, we fold our hands and close our eyes before meals to thank God for his provision. One prayer we taught our (young) children:
Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing, thank you, God, for everything.
_______
Thinking about how we really need His blessing on our lives and on our world:
There’s no blessing without a blesser
left to ourselves, the “good” grows lesser
pretend we can fix it by wearing mask dressier
outside of God’s plan, our messes get messier
There’s just no blessing without a Blesser!
And finally…
May God bless
the poets
and
the prophets,
inspire them with
words worth
smithing
and
insight worth
pithing
may steel
words reveal
deepest darkness
shatter
false piety
and
scatter
hot light into
life’s mysterious
corners
amen.
03 Apr 2017 11 Comments
in haibun, prayer Tags: communion, God, prayer, presence, silence, wrestling
Prayer is practicing the quiet presence of God. It is crawling up into the lap of our abba – daddy and crying to hear him whisper comfort in our ear as he wraps us in his strong, everlasting arms. Prayer is communion, connection, conversation; our privilege as children since Jesus opened door. It may be a mighty wrestling, his will bending ours to grant a greater blessing than we can imagine. In amazing love and grace, God invites us to pray and he initiates our prayers. He wants us to come to him. In his presence, our brokenness begins to heal, our emptiness to fill. Prayer is relationship, not religion; desire, not duty. It is our lifeline; vital as breathing, inhale – exhale. If we cannot pray? Jesus intercedes, the Spirit groans and the family of God lifts us up, before his throne.
listen in silence
dew refreshes, green renews
spring rain for the soul
25 Oct 2016 19 Comments
in free verse, prayer Tags: body, fear, love, spark, spirit, wildfire
A quadrille (poem of 44 words) on De’s theme of “spark” at dVersePoets
the
essence of
Love
broke into
this broken world
held hostage by
Fear
to cast it out:
let go and
Believe!
holy Fire
inflamed
disciples to
witness to Word
fearlessly;
now spark a
new reformation
of Body
as living organism
ignited by
Spirit’s
wildfire.
13 Sep 2016 20 Comments
in prayer, quadrille, scripture Tags: grace, hope, love, shepherd, truth
Prayer in “quadrille” form, exactly forty-four words…link to dVerse Poets
Open my hands
to receive extravagant grace
Open my ears
to hear shepherd’s voice
Open my eyes
to see beauty of narrow way
Open my mind
to know transforming truth
Open my mouth
to speak words of hope
Open my heart
to love courageously.
Jesus spoke “Ephphatha!” to deaf/mute man (see Mark 7:31-37)
05 May 2016 Leave a comment
in prayer Tags: children, hungry, lonely, nation, prayer
Prayer is raising our emptiness to be filled by His presence.
“O Divine Master, grant
that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love. “ – St.Francis
Lord, i’m just one person
of little position or power,
disillusioned with politics,
wondering how to pray
for this nation and world;
where truth is trampled
justice twisted unjustly;
the violated commit violence,
the bullied become bullies
and sadness spills like rain.
as you offered Yourself
may i give myself fully
to love on your children,
feed the hungry souls,
visit the sick, sad, lonely,
beginning in my own home.
06 Jan 2016 Leave a comment
in prayer, Uncategorized Tags: beauty, clarity, Jesus, prayer
grant us clarity
our love’s beauty transparent
pray they may see you
a poem in my pocket 
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