The violence of the past weeks in Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton, and other places in the world, brought to mind the horrors of September 11, 2001. I recall that morning vividly. It was a Tuesday, and we were scheduled to host our circuit pastors’ meeting at our congregation. We...
Poetry
The Great Advent Poetry Smackdown
Several years ago, a friend of mine named Jani, who happens to be an English Lit major, threw down the poetic gauntlet and declared a poetry smackdown for the season of Advent. It all started with the Christmas carol “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and this brief exchange: Jani:...
Come, Heavenly Fire (2002)
Come, heavenly Fire!Refine the ore of our humanityFouled by Adam’s rebel drossConsume what mars divine reflection,Image of the Son emboss. Come, heavenly Fire!Flame beneath the Holocaust“Father, where’s the lamb for sacrifice?”Behold the Lamb! Behold the Son!Cross-shed Blood – our redemption price. Come, heavenly Fire!Light the path through parted SeaFiery...
Chloe, The Calico Cat (2001)
You were born in a Tulsa garage The only girl of four Calico with checkerboard toes And wide, green eyes; Or were they yellow? And how did you change them to suit your mood? Your mother was a regal princess, black and sleek, Who taught you well to ride...
A Fourfold Hallelujah (2004)
Hallelujah! Call to worship, to liturgy, to praise Four times: Let us praise YHWH, the LORD! Praise is all there’s left to do When the Lord has done it all. Salvation’s song crescendos from the heavens And tumbles down to earth where It meets a mixed review of FAITH...
Welcome (1999)
Welcome – A Poem for Christmas Eve (1999) Welcome little Promised One Lying on bed of manger straw Nursing peacefully on virgin’s milk. Warrior, enmity-maker, serpent’s head crusher, It’s your natal night, and we bid you welcome. Welcome little Promised One Virgin offspring, unspotted by Adam’s primal sin Death-destroyer,...
A Meditation While Shopping for a Christmas Tree
A Meditation While Shopping for a Christmas Tree based on Isaiah 11:1 Every year I drag a dying tree into the house And stick it in water spiked with preservative, Ever-green symbol of the life in death that is ours in Jesus, Leaving stuck in some forgotten forest A...