Dust

The dust on my face tells me I'm broken;
it tells me I'm dying.
The soft chalky smudge
burns with truth,
sticks to my face
like we're stuck on this earth.

Look up at the woman
who makes all the marks,
staining foreheads with word of our
gathering death.
Watch her closely, in wonder,
as her daughter draws near.
How can you mark your own daughter
with death?
And yet, a smile, deep joy
as soft sooty fingers blacken smooth skin.

Glimpse the deep well in her smile.
Plunge in.
Bathe in the warm light of hope.
Let it speak to you
truth
deeper
than the burning smudge on your face.

The waters whisper
"All men are like grass."
"Lift your eyes."

Her smile's not just a well,
but a spring,
bubbling up life
that persists after death.

Undaunted by dust,
she rests in smallness,
in wonder, in trust.

Journal Haikus

Ugandan fabric
carefully stitched signatures
sewed to completion

It lays open flat
woos the owner to writing
like a journal should




To complete circle
send journal to Africa
with dear friend Lauren

from Logan Airport .... to Portsmouth, NH: A poem written on a bus

One of my very favorite things on this earth
is green trees
moving - rustling -
in the wind.

The green speaks to of LIFE
vitality, freshness.
It makes me want to take
deep breaths
and to settle into a state
of just being.

The wind speaks of something
utterly outside of me.
It reminds me of how small
I am -
of how little control I truly have.
And at least a this moment,
it makes me want to
curl up and take more deep breaths.

I wish I could become the tree.
I wish my arms would sprout branches,
and grow leaves,
so I could feel the wind rustle me,
so I might know the wind
deep in the marrow of by bones.


Maybe then I could breathe.

imagining...

We sang "I can only imagine" at church this morning. I used to love that song.

I understand the sentiments of imagining heaven...of longing and dreaming of what it will be like to go home. I do yearn for home. I yearn for it more than I can begin to express in words.

I find myself, however, not only wanting to imagine what it would be like to see the face of the Lord, or to worship him without ceasing. These are things I desire for my life today.

I want to dance for Jesus today.
I want to be awed by his presence in this life.
I want to be still in the midst of his presence.
I want to sing "Hallelujah!"
I want to be silenced by the vastness of God's glory.

More than just wanting these things, I believe that they are possible today. I believe that God is present in every moment. I believe that if we pause from our busyness, and look around us, we will be awed by the presence of the Lord.

Not only is this possible, it is what we are called to. And, it is necessary to for my sanity.

If we must choose one thing to focus on, one thing to seek, may it be the face of the Lord. May we ask for eyes to see and ears to hear.


for further thoughts...please read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, and How to Become a Saint by Jack Bernard