Category Archives: poetry

Little lower

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

God forbid that I should meetan angel face to face: the many eyeswould terrify, the beating wingsmight stop my heart; how wouldI hear their, “Do not fear,”let alone what may follow? Send me instead the dragonfly, fiercebut fragile, anointing the … Continue reading →

Posted in holy days, poetry, prayer, Whom Shall I Fear? | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Opportunist

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

Robin alighted as soon as I mowed the first swathe of grass,  an aspiring scavenger sifting the cuttings for prey. Undeterred by the turning blade, it tilted an eye  as though to say, we are not so different, you and … Continue reading →

Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

But who do you say that I am?

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

This poem was first published at the Episcopal Cafe When Christ confronted the demons, they cried outin loud voices and with forked tongues,“We know who you are, Holy One, Son of God,hope of the nations and light of the world!”And … Continue reading →

Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Prayer for a day when there are no words

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

I do not have words to imagine the prayers of the falling.It feels ironic to light a candlewhen fires burn freely and fast;to kneel as though the earth might otherwiseflee from beneath me.Breathing has becomean act of defiance. Baptism threatens to flood … Continue reading →

Posted in current events, poetry, prayer | Leave a comment

Brushstrokes

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

Leaded clouds filter light to the lake; deep calls to deep. The layered air is painted on; brushstrokes of the wind, movements of the Spirit, fade into the canvas of the storm.

Posted in poetry, story | Leave a comment

A haiku on Psalm 30:5

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

Following tracks of rain down to the lake for joy that comes by morning

Posted in haiku, poetry, prayer | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The dry bones

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

They must have been famished,that bunch of bones shrugged together,flesh and sinew awaiting breath.How long had they been fasting in the dust? They were surely parched;their skin must have sagged,their steps dragged – how manycalories does resurrection burn, anyway? Did … Continue reading →

Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A prayer for the earthbound

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

As deeply as he descended among the dead, plumbing Hell and Hades,the limits of human horror too easily imaginedby the earthbound; so far he invites us to soar beyond our petty promises of punishment and death, to life beyond the … Continue reading →

Posted in holy days, poetry, prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment

Prayer for an end to mass shootings

Posted on May 1, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

My God,can we not go one week,sabbath to sabbath,without a mass shooting? Will you not beatour pistols into ploughshares,our shotguns into shovels,our rifles into rakes,massage some feeling intoour hearts of stone? I sigh, open my eyes;the mirror stares back in … Continue reading →

Posted in current events, gun violence, poetry, prayer | Tagged | 1 Comment

Sore wounded

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Rosalind C Hughes

First purple, then green new leaves unfurl as though winter had never been; veined and vain, they bear no marks of last year’s deer, no signs of decay. This is not the resurrection of the dead; this is a conjuring … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, prayer | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment