Category Archives: poetry

Leaning

I cannot stand straight. My body shapes itself to air that falls away beneath its drooping head and arms.  Once so solid, with you no longer there, I drift as though weightless, of no substance; I lean against the empty … Continue reading

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Year C Easter 6: Down by the river

Silt sinking to your shoes, knee deep in ooze, you lose your stream of thought way down by the river to pray. Tripping, tickling trout tumbling upward, hope lifts labour over falls, life runs down by the river to pray. … Continue reading

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Spring in Michigan

It’s day two of the Festival of Faith & Writing. So much to think about, process, reflect upon, enjoy. But halfway across the parking lot at lunch – in the middle of a day that began in the freezing temperatures … Continue reading

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Early morning prayer

The expression of light before it breaks: a black sky open to distant heavens; the shocking nudity of pale tree limbs displayed against a deep cloud canvas. Within and without lie in such balance for a moment I can see … Continue reading

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Savasana

Empty clothing, deflating dust with bone fastenings, faded and stained, deeply wrinkled enough to bury life within the folds, rolled up like a mat and carried out when the last breath fails and the softness falls upon itself.

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Bearing

Smattering laughter, sundry small-talk dies away. Grasping brass handles, shoulders square. The slightest stumble, scant genuflection; the body pays its respects to the shocking weight of mortality.

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Sabbath sunrise in suburbia

In the dying of the dark, quiet resounds: a cat rasping food from her bowl; the whining clamour of electrical connections picked up by the antennae in our teeth. Dawn shatters on street lamps, security lights. Shadows decline over the … Continue reading

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The penultimate last word

“It is finished.” Hurry, Jesus. Hurry to the appointment you have made to duel death. Hasten the darkening sky, that  a false dawn may break early; that you may fell the great destroyer. The soldiers come with mallets and spear, we hear … Continue reading

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The fifth last word

As the frog seeks its spawning ground, I yearn for the waters of new life. As the child wails for its mother’s breast, I crave your loving tenderness. As the hunger striker is starved of a reprieve, I cry out … Continue reading

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The fourth last word

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Life shines in the dark lens of your countenance. When you hide your face, all die, and return to the earth. Was it dust or grief, guilt or love that made … Continue reading

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