It Just Might Be

A small part of me

longs for one good snow

when the season arrives,

a snow to cover the ground

and the trees and the streets,

to bring a mere moment of silence

in the current hubbub of life.

One good snow might be nice.

#ThrowbackThursday

The good that I will to do

I do not do

but the evil I will not to do

I practice with each bitter

thought and recollection,

hoping for change

yet clutching to the bitter feelings

I try to put to death.

I can’t change the past, _______,

I won’t vilify you publicly

for what you did

but I won’t make excuses for you

as I once did.

I still love you, ______,

and I pray to God that we’ll both

grow in love and grace

and

forgiveness.

We don’t need the old memories

or a slew of new ones;

just peace,

my brother.

Just peace for the present.

.

.

.

.

.

Witness

As Much as I Used To

I find

that I don’t love you

as much as

I used to,

you have shown your cards,

your flaws,

your imperfections,

your tells,

you have shown your weaknesses

and bared your soul

to someone

inferior,

you have shown compassion

to the very same

when it was not deserved.

Still

I find

that I don’t love you

as much as

I used to

for

I have loved you more

with each passing day

Kyrie eleison

Learned about humility

twice this week alone,

the message sticks through it

but the hard head and sinful flesh

still prefer bandages

instead of cures

Lord, have mercy on me . . .

Went into a situation

guns blazing

when thought, tact, and prayer

were the proper tools,

I was a fool

and nothing less,

Lord, have mercy . . .

There’s hurt and harm

out here, God,

I know You know

and I know it’s in Your hands,

the author and perfecter

of faith,

to carry us over the finish line.

So I pray all the more

Lord, have mercy on us all.

Twenty-Eight Plus One and Two Days

Twenty-nine sure feels

like twenty-eight plus one and two days now

but even that felt like

twenty-five at times,

maybe time stood still

at some point

and the world and I

kept on moving

–wouldn’t that still

be time?–

Ah yes! But not a day

goes by or has gone by

that His sufficient measure

of grace

was not there,

like tomorrow,

a day no doubt like twenty-five,

four years, three days

Alacrity All the Time

They say that some prayers

go unanswered

The Old Purple Shirt

for D. W.

 

This old purple shirt’s

for working and play

Prayer for the road

The going out, the coming in,

the who, the where, the how, and when,

Be with them all out on the road

and by Your grace, do guide them home

Shadows: an Advent reflection

Things promised are

visible in the shadow

not quite seen;

Heavy

Sometimes it is heavy,

the weight of the world

seemingly crushing every bone