When Hope issues an invitation
A chance to dream of better
A looking forward to the future
Even against the past
Even against the present
To respond affirmatively
Is to soar and dream
To set aside the tension
Of one’s grounding
Of one’s doubt
Category: Poetry
Of Rainbows and Mud
(Part 4 of 4 in the “Grief in a Season of Joy” series)
Why do we never enter
the dripping, wild woods
As the rain starts to fall?
We fear the wet, the mud
The fallen leaves’ decay
Never noticing the fragrance
of new life they exude.
In our concern for comfort
Our endless quest for beauty
We do not look in such a way
As to see the foundational
Workings of new life
Leaf litter on the damp clay
Fallen timber awash with rain Continue reading “Of Rainbows and Mud”
Be Gentle with Yourself in Grief
(Part 3 of 4 in the “Grief in a Season of Joy” series)
Be gentle with yourself in grief
You cannot hurry it along by tackling it all at once
You cannot sweep it away without so much as a glance
You cannot dam it in an ever-increasing reservoir Continue reading “Be Gentle with Yourself in Grief”
Go in Peace
(Part 2 of 4 in the “Grief in a Season of Joy” series)
How long, O Lord, will we live in fear of Pain
Wary of being weighed down forever by it
I want to arrive in the city of Hope and dwell in Joy
But Pain will not be left behind while I journey
It clings to my legs, refusing to be forgotten,
And becomes a stumbling block Continue reading “Go in Peace”
Grief in the Season of Joy
(Part 1 of 4 in the “Grief in a Season of Joy” series)
In this season of anticipation, I ought to be anticipating not only the birth of the Messiah, but also the halfway point of my fourth pregnancy. Instead, I find myself grieving loss, recognizing that grief is not always something you can defer to a ‘more opportune time’.
At an Advent retreat last week, I sensed an invitation to begin posting what I’ve written during my grief process, even though Christmas is nearly upon us.
So, for those of you who grieve your own losses in this season of joy, the next few weeks are for you! May you find the freedom to be present with grief as we remember the moment God came to dwell with us, pain and all.
To a Little One I may not get to meet Continue reading “Grief in the Season of Joy”
I Still Remember
I still remember the day
I first put on glasses
Everything looked so crisp and clear
But what I didn’t expect
Was the color
The way it jumped into my vision
The brightness of the clarity Continue reading “I Still Remember”
On Putting Off What Really Matters
I.
a month later
the house in order
I sit down and wonder
where the time goes
when important work is at hand Continue reading “On Putting Off What Really Matters”
the drive
the road speeds by, one hand
on the wheel and one searching
searching the radio for a song
big enough to contain Continue reading “the drive”
Alma Mater
Today I dawdle along my old familiar paths
Pausing to take in all that has changed
And all that is yet as it used to be
Reaching out, I can almost touch the moments
They whisper out from between the bricks
From cracks in the mortar Continue reading “Alma Mater”
Wasted?
In the middle of wasted moments,
glistening with promise
until that empty *pop*
In the presence of uncertain ends
sticking out in all directions
and the tangled coils of even-less-certain means
Into the mess of all my playthings
— You Breathe —
And Your Breath is
In Pursuit of More 