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Tag: body
Can You Doubt It?
Pools of blood
Gathering beneath
The hanging body.
Breath goes out,
But doesn’t come back in.
Skin separated from the bones.
What is the truth?
They’ve washed their hands
Of any responsibility.
But can they wash away the blood?
Nightmares come
To remind the guilty.
Can you grit your teeth
And bare this torture?
Can you escape the horror?
This man was truly
From God.
Those who witnessed,
Cannot deny it.
Those who saw him later—
Walking, talking…
Breathing, eating—
Cannot shake the image
From their memory.
Restored but still wounded.
Put your finger
In my wrists and in my side.
He is alive!!!
Changing Gears
Sometimes there are reasons
For ways I think and feel,
And sometimes it just hits me
From out of nowhere.
I can’t plan a day ahead
Without being surprised
By something that happens
That changes my focus.
Being bipolar means that
Sometimes I am at the mercy
Of my mood. But that doesn’t mean
I’m helpless. I just have to
Constantly be aware
Of everything that affects me,
Inside and out.
It is a challenge,
But it’s possible.
Starting Over
Leave your heart
At the door,
Slammed shut,
With a thud.
Cover your eyes.
I don’t want you to see
How thin I’ve become,
Wasting away,
In loneliness.
And how I’ve hurt
On this special day.
How I wanted to say
Something cute,
Something caring,
Something happy;
But all that came out was,
“That’s nice.”
All I cared about
Was hiding my fear,
Not starting a fight again,
Over something stupid.
I want to start over.
I want to be closer.
I want to embrace your
Wilting body.
Let’s go down
To the river,
To drown our sin,
And come up again,
And bask in the sun.
Let’s hold each other again,
Like we once did,
When God smiled on us,
And we had not
A care in the world!
Fine
I’ll be fine.
Just give me a chance
To fill my prescriptions,
Snack on those potato chips,
Make a Walmart run,
Fill up the tank
Of my gas-guzzling SUV,
Smoke my cigarette,
Drink a couple of beers,
Go hunting with my pals,
Take my dog to the park,
Take a ride in my boat,
Zoom around on my motorcycle,
Take a hit of acid,
Chew a bite of snuff,
Go to worship at my church,
Feed the homeless in my community,
Read a book,
Lay out on the beach,
Jog for a couple miles,
Sleep in a few extra hours,
Have a cup of coffee,
Get laid,
Collect my paycheck,
Say a prayer.
Yeah, I’ll be fine.
A Reflection on Juneteenth
Crimes unimaginable
Sins unfathomable
Wrongs not righted
With an apology,
A soft word,
Or the stroke of a pen.
Pain to the deepest parts
Of the heart and soul,
The very fiber of one’s being,
A wound that doesn’t heal,
But rather cuts deeper
With every smile,
Every handshake,
On every pay day,
Every trip to the grocery store,
Every night at mealtime,
When they look at their children,
When they look at ours.
Privilege continues
Despite the lip service,
Despite the promises,
Amidst the meager gifts,
The dregs of easy charity
From the tatters of a bursting purse,
The guilt trip laid on thick
To the middle class and even
The working poor.
Those that lack for food,
Clothing or shelter,
Living barely day to day,
Not knowing where one’s next
Meal will come from.
And at the church the preacher
Says try harder, pray more,
Save your dollars
So you can send your little ones
To a good college,
Make them study,
Keep them out of trouble,
Tell them you love them,
That you’re proud of them
For that report card.
What do you say
When the white kid
Calls them the n-word?
What do you say
When you don’t have a job
Because you refused
To kiss your supervisor’s butt
When he would talk to you
Like you were nothin’,
Just a cog in his machine,
A disposable, replaceable,
Optional, neglectable,
Insultable, disrespected,
Used, abused, tossed out
To the street
Like so much garbage,
Black man?
Power
Wrong meets right.
The fight is strong.
Laugh, they will.
Cry out, they must.
Shout, at the top of their lungs—
Justice must prevail.
So many innocent lives
Have been crushed by the fist
Of the oppressor!
So many suffer
Because of the greed
And the arrogance
Of the powerful.
The powerful?
Who is powerful?
What is power?
Don’t you know that
The wind has changed course
On this hot, dry day.
The wind! The water!
The earth! The animals!
The birds! The insects!
The trees! Yes, even the trees!
Look at an old oak tree,
And tell me about power!
Look at a rushing stream,
And tell me about power!
Watch a lion kill its prey,
And tell me about power!
Is a gun, power?
In the hands of a six year old, a gun is just as powerful as in the hands of a grown man!
A gun is just a tool.
It’s what you do with a tool
That makes it useful.
It’s what you do with a tool
That makes it powerful.
And when a thousand voices scream,
That’s power!
When the people speak as one,
That’s power!
Don’t be afraid.
Be excited!
Be joyful!
Be glad!
For power has come to the people,
And they will not be denied this moment.
They have prayed,
And they have worked,
And they have suffered
For this moment.
Listen to the wind blow
Through the trees!
Justice has come like a mighty rush of wind,
And anything that’s old, anything that’s weak,
Anything that’s not tied down tight,
Is gonna blow away!
Those old tricks, old ways,
Cowardly words, weak attitudes,
Straw men beware!
The wind of justice has come to blow you…
Away!
Mercy
Alone, but not alone.
God waits behind the curtain–
Or is it I that wait on God?
We wait on each other, then,
In a sort of waltz together,
Taking one step forward,
And one step back,
Rotating in circles,
Never completely meeting.
Oh, how my heart yearns
To connect to the holy one!
Like a child yearns
To be held by its mother,
So I crave the loving arms
Of my Creator.
My prayers of desperation
Fall down into the abyss.
My prostrate body
Aches with loneliness and pain
Of rejection and betrayal.
I must continue
To remain faithful,
But my soul is so weary.
How my enemies mock me,
Lord of All, please,
Be merciful.
Courageous Relationships (link to video)
www.saintpaulsumc.org/sermon/new-places-for-new-people-courageous-relationships/
Click on the above link to view a sermon by Rev. Dr. Kandace Brooks in which she challenges her congregation to step out of their comfort zones and reach out to others, to ask for help or to be of help, specifically to the mentally ill, suicidal, etc.
We Are One
I waited for you
On top of the mountain,
But you didn’t show.
I went down
Into the valley,
But I didn’t see you there.
I sailed on the ocean,
Hoping to catch
A glimpse of you at sunrise,
But I was disappointed.
I prayed to you
To appear to me,
And I looked at my reflection
In a pool of water.
It was then that I realized–
You were always with me,
For you are a part of me.
We can never be separated,
You and I.
We are One.
Stumbling along the sidewalk 