Comfortable Shirt

August 2008

Every morning I get up
And put on a

Comfortable shirt
Clean pants
Dry shoes
Warm hat
Wrist watch.

I hope they make
My life better
And much
Longer.

Luke 18:18-29

Blue Lake

August 2008

Shall I sit in my closet and
Touch the world?
Look out a keyhole;
See the morning?

Shall I plug my ears and
Hear music?

Cover my face;
Smell rain,
Taste food?

Shall I read scripture and
Believe in miracles;
Or imagine a cross and
Love the Lord?

And if I find my way
To the wild country,
Can I see the river from camp and
Know its strength
Or its final turn?

Do I learn my brother’s fate
From rumors told by strangers?

They come up the trail at dusk
Riding milk-eyed,
Dry-mouthed mares
And leading gray mules
Gone pale,
Laden with the ghosts
Of dead hope.

They say, “Your brother is lost; too late to start;
Too weak to climb; too old to cross.”

Their stories stale quickly
Like bitter coffee –
They sour my mind and
Destroy my rest.

Heaven forbid that I listen to these!

No.
I will go to a high place and
Study the rivers path.

I will find a trail to the crossing place and
Spend time beside it.
I will test its speed
Against my own and,
By listening quietly,
Sound its depth
And gauge its power.

And Lord willing,
I will return to find my brother.
I will stand outside his tent and
Call him by the name God gave him.
And when the time comes,
We will cross the river again,
Together.

Together
We will walk up the high trail
To Blue Lake
Where the Grandfathers fish.

There, at sky’s edge,
We will find our
True friend
Roasting fresh fish over
A low fire.

And the smell…

The smell is beyond
My imaginings.

John 21

Unprotected

Perhaps, my Heart, my Love
I was wrong
To let you go
Unprotected
Into the World –
To let you leave the manor
Without escort.

I expected my father
To go with you –
To train you, to provision you,
To lead you through
The Darkness into
The Morning.

And now, standing here
In my safe, high place,
I see you standing there
alone
At the end of the meadow
At the edge of the forest
Where the Great Wolf lives

And I realize...

I realize
I did not ask my father
To go with you.

Father, my Father...
Please hurry!

Ephesians 6:18, Colossians 4:2, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3, 1 Peter 5:8

Written January 22, 2008

Today the Field

Today the Lord has won the field,
And will, the War,
One day.

Written January 24, 2008

Bright Eyes

I wrote this for my Mom on her birthday -- the Lord gave me a gift for her. We had studied John 10:1-13 the night before in our Church @ Home group. That is where Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd.

I cannot remember our sheep
As well as my Father can.
He remembers their names,
From whom he bought them,
And how they lived.
He has stories to tell about them.

But I can remember my Mother –
And that my Mother loved them –
Especially the newborn lamb.

In my mind, I can see
My Mother,
Her eyes bright,
Her blonde hair back,
Her smile beyond her face,
Chasing, and grasping, and bundling the lamb --
Its legs folded in her arms.

And now, in my mind, in my memory,
She held the lamb close,
They’re faces twins, entwined somehow,
The one loving, the other loved.

John 10:1-13

Written April 19, 2008

What Do You See

The Lord put men in my life who example his teaching, his patience, his strength, and his Love. What can be said about them? They are heroes of faith, martyrs. This is about them.


What do you see
In this one, Jesus?

What do you see --
That on him you
Place your coat,
And send him to find
Your children
In the Dark,
The Night of War?

What do you see
In this one, Jesus?

What do you see –
That to him you
You gave a message
For your Beloved,
Spoken softly in private,
Yet sealed in blood
Before all men?

What do you see
In this one, Jesus?

What do you see --
In this one low born,
His eyes weak,
And his body slow --
This one his enemies
Know better
Than his friends?

What do you see
In this one, Jesus?

Years pass and my vision
Drew as close as arm’s length
Before your answer came --
“Do you see, in this one -- Jesus?”

Hebrews 11:39 "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what has been promised.”

Written March 8, 2008

Just Another Face

The Lord asked me these questions during my "quiet" time.

Who am I to you?

Am I just another face
In the crowd
Of your mind?

Am I just another noise
In the din
Of your life?

Am I just another voice
That chatters
In your doorway –
At the edge
Of your attention

Who am I to you?
Who am I to you?

You are everything to me.

Luke 9:20; Mathew 18:12-14; John 17

Written March 18, 2008

How Should I Love

This is a poem I wrote last September for my wife, Vicki.

How should I love Thee?
As Christ loved the Church –
Freely – with abandon
Of all that does not belong
In “I Love You”

How should I love thee?
As Christ loved the Church –
Completely – and in
That universe contains all
Love.

How should I love thee?
As Christ loved the Church –
So sweetly – and in
The few hours remaining
Wash Thy feet
– My Beloved.

Ephesians 5:25 ; John 13:1-17

Introduction

This is my first attempt at blogging. I'll be sharing with you meditations, poems, and stories about things I love. I hope you enjoy them. Oh, and Vicki came up with the title for the blog. She was helping me get started and she said, "What do want the title to be?" I said, "I don't know. I can't think of anything." She said, "You can change it later...just anything...just something for now." Perfect.