NRHOriginal Poetry
Early morning, an Easter poem
Alleluia!
The Resurrection of God-come-to-as-us-one-of-us–
Jesus!–
can only be
the Declaration: no one else has to die– not one– to right the world, humanity is healed, true Light will always scatter the darkness,
the Proclamation: self-preservation is wholly unnecessary because the Holy One never saw corruption, entrusting instead of defending,
the Announcement: there is no King but Christ, making many nations one multi-lingual people of Redemption, answering to no State but Love, in Word, Spirit, Divinity,
the Hope: humanity destined for divination, Creation-cosmos, restored at last!
Angels sing with Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve,
–as we weep from relief, falling into the eternal rest of mercy and grace–
Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God!
To know you and to be known by you is to find you All in All,
forever and without end.
Alleluia!
The Texas country, a poem
The Texas country
Can be a pressure valve
On the crucible of the Phoenix city
For those that make the trip
No less teeming with life
Organic more than mechanical
Electric less than infused with fossil fuels.
Wide spaces
Fresh air
Black shade
Considerate drivers.
Older ways, well trodden
And slow.
Poem for Ash Wednesday
Return from your sin.
Be faithful to the Gospel.
And remember
from dust
you came and
to dust
you will return.
Words that–when spoken along
with the imposition of oily ashes
crossed
on my dirty forehead
and the body and blood of Jesus
the Christ that washes me white–
remind of mercy and grace
and love.
This poem for Ash Wednesday was originally published on February 14, 2013
Pour: A poem about death and life
We are called to pour out ourselves
for the lost and forgotten,
the broken and the marred.
That is what Christ did for us.
Although it is not something
we accomplish by our own strength,
he graciously enables us
through his Spirit
to take part in the redemption
of all creation.
We live in the already-but-not-yet,
but God’s Kingdom is coming,
and the Body of Christ is the vessel
that will usher in a new era.
Our actions become prophetic utterance,
reflecting, enacting, anticipating the second, final
coming of our Lord
to rule the world.