Category Archives: poetry

On a Wednesday

On Wednesdays, I think about my mother. Arise, shine, for your light has come, the daily morning prayer declares, on a Wednesday. I hear my mother calling, “Rise and shine!” Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory … Continue reading

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Lazarus, unbound

Feeling the ground with his hands, touching the soil with his feet, kissing the earth, Lazarus, unbound, raises his face to see his friends retreat – in fear they have let him go –  stares at Jesus with eyes too … Continue reading

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Louisville Seminary

sun striking chapel bells call to morning prayer unanswerable

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Security alert

Count seconds between eruptions; dog howl fear strikes: cell phone lightning storm.

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Middle age

Three, even two years ago, my shoulder didn’t burn, my hip didn’t pop, my knee didn’t stab me in the back halfway round the supermarket. Since the spring, we have been on cooler terms, tending to the necessities with icy politeness, my body and I, feigning … Continue reading

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Gloriana

[Sometimes, the search for a sermon feels like a game of free association – chasing words down rabbit holes and across parklands, trying to track down an idea, the spirit of an idea, and bottle it. This week’s wild goose … Continue reading

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Threading the needle

First, unpack your camel. Divest it of its commodities: sugar, salt, and spices, unguents, oils, perfume, all excisable goods must go; hold a trunk sale if you must. Next, take off its defences; not only the cannons and the turret … Continue reading

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After the visit

Then they had left, the front door slamming like a rapidly deflating balloon. The house looked to fall an inch or more. Into the silence that fell with the shroud of exhaust over its face, her home dropped the creaks … Continue reading

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Better

It started out easily enough: I shaved off my hair, my pride and my vanity, and cast it in the fire. Trouble was, I just looked too damned good that way; so I broke the mirror and used the shards … Continue reading

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Evensong

evening, midweek, overwhelmed and underprayed, counting blessed sheep.

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