Rhyming is saying the same thing backwards. Realms of tattered words fill lots of wheelbarrows. Reading rhymes is fun until you think about it. Nonsense is saying the opposite of what you usually would say, for each word in the sentence. Rhymes replace meaning sometimes. Saying what you might do is always a predicate to what you have done, at least when the two are the same thing. I’ve always thought that what I might do far outweighs what I will do, but is not nearly as true.
Tag: thoughts
A Prayer for the World
I closed my eyes to the world,
For I could not bear another
Moment of its peril,
Persecution and sword.
All the fighting was too much
To take in each day,
The cruelty and carnage,
The swearing and insulting,
Turning heads to wrongs abounding.
So, my hope was hanging
In a precious balance.
Whether I could go on,
Was in doubt, for sure.
I decided to appeal
To my higher power,
The merciful God of Spirit,
Who had rescued my life from ruin.
Somehow, there must be possibility
For my present earth to reconcile
All this shambles of civilization,
A carcass of the creation
That existed so many years ago.
I prayed a solemn petition,
Asking Jesus for His grace,
A gentle dose of mercy
For this time and place.
And so I placed my trust
In the heaven above,
Shedding no more tears for the future.
I know it is in God’s hands,
And I believe that is enough.
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.
Spirals
Drifting through despair,
The emptiness tingles.
My soul quivers
At the tickling breeze
Of meandering routine,
The repetition of work,
And the high-pitched whistling
Of idle conversation.
The circular motion
Of a life without purpose,
A mind without focus,
And feet without direction,
All come together for an
Absurd account of a life lived
Without meaning.
Freedom comes with its own
Heavy chains,
And a weight that is a
Painful, woe-some
Burden to bare.
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.
You Bless Me
You bless me
With a mind that understands
The ways I think and act,
The ways I try to be
A better husband,
And the ways I fall short,
When I am weak.
You bless me
In the ways you help me,
The ways you care for me,
The ways you love me.
You bless me
With your curiosity,
Your insightfulness,
Your intelligence.
You bless me
With your generosity,
Your humility,
Your persistence.
You bless me,
And I am privileged to be
Your loving husband.
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 