"The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, and you should try not to forget snacks and magazines."
Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Bird

Winking at me with a
bold, black eye,
the bird with the
garish yellow coat
hopped outside my window.

Flirtatious and cheeky,
as though we were old
friends and this
moment our reunion,
he strolled closer.

Beak to glass,
hand to heart,
I held my breath,
hoping and hopeful
he would settle on that sill

But noting our differences,
a chasm between us,
he flew away,
joining avian revelries
at a backyard feeder.

Exhaling a sigh,
I keened his loss between
sips of coffee,
wishing for fluency in bird –
a “thank you,” for stopping.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

How Do I Pray?

How do I let go of
DISGUST
ANGER
RAGE

How do I speak
LOVE
HOPE
COMPASSION
PEACE

How do I pray?
Heartsickness and despair
have bound my tongue.
Dread and powerlessness
constrict my heart.
Revenge whispers its
bitter nothings in my ear.

Hatred fills me
I know how tightly
I am caught in the
Tempter’s snare

How do I pray?

All I have is trust
God speaks tears’ language
God transforms rage into TENDERNESS
dread into COURAGE
hate into HOPE

God hears my faltering
feeble attempts
holds me close
releases me from the enemy that is me
sends me out to LOVE
as I have been LOVED
not because I feel it, but because
LOVE is LIVED.

Prayer is not limited to bended knee.

Sometimes prayer is in the walking.