Friday, September 24, 2010

Do You See the Children?

Proposed Antiphon:  Use your gifts wisely.

Children move among the aisles;
I say children, but they are not that young;
Some are old;
Some are young adults;
Some are middle-aged.

Children move among the aisles;
Their job is to sort;
To adjust;
To make things neat;
To make it easy for things to sell.

Fancy clothes;
Fancy bags;
Fancy shoes;
Shoes that cost the earth;
Clothes that cost the sky;
Bags that cost the sun, the moon, and the stars.

The children work in their best clothes;
Which are sad and worn.
In their best shoes;
Which sometimes are worse than no shoes at all.
They carry no bags;
Bags are for leisure, for shopping, for preening.

Children move among the aisles;
Adjusting things they cannot own;
Wearing broken clothes;
And living broken lives.
Do you see the children in the aisles? 

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Wonder of Naming

Proposed Antiphon: Take time to understand

The men and women sit around on plastic chairs
They wear boots held together with packing tape
Their socks mostly don’t match
Their pants are dark and worn, but not torn.
You won’t get sent out, if your pants are torn.
They are washed and clean shaven
You won’t get sent out, if you are scrufty.
The bosses don’t like it.
There is soap and razors if you need them.
Soap and razors for those who can’t afford them.

One or two of them will talk – will talk a lot
These are the new ones, the ‘I have a dream’ ones
The egotists, the scammers, the ‘cover-it-with talk’ ones
The rest say only what they must
They are silent, and mostly still
They are here to work


They sit around and wait for someone to call their name
It may be the only time they hear their name all day
Unless someone at home speaks it
Whatever home is for them
Wherever they go at night
Other than that, they are nameless

It is bad to make attachments
A waste of time to litter your mind with names
Names of people who don’t want to be here
Names of people who don’t want to be remembered here
Names of people who will go, and you will never see again
Names of lost people, people like you


Oh they have names
Names that are important to the bosses
Names that are called out sometimes to go work
Names that must appear on checks or vouchers
And in reports and tax forms
And sometimes in legal documents
That take what little they earn

But mostly they have bodies
Legs and arms to lift and carry
Hands to grasp and open and close
Brains are not required
And names are just labels anyway
They could just as well be numbers

But sometimes life breaks through;
Someone stops, and smiles, and the smile is returned
Someone speaks a name
A name for no reason
A name that shows someone remembered
A name that shows that someone cared
Enough to add your name to the list
To their personal litany of remembrance

Whether you are lost, or not.

Monday, September 20, 2010

I Help and Stand Back (Reprise)

I am reprising this post to honor Maple Leaf Lutheran Church of Seattle who voted overwhelmingly yesterday to host Tent City 3 against not insignificant opposition.



I help and stand back
I open the door and get out of the way
I show you those in need and you reach out to them
I whisper a question in your ear and you find a solution
I find you a little cash and you donate it
Some food, and you share it
A moment of peace...
An ounce of grace...
I am a silent helping presence while you work
You invoke me and credit me
But I was just a signpost and a prop
You pushed to your feet
You stepped in harm's way
You tangled with hardship
You struggled with need
You made do with little
You loved in the midst of carelessness and hate
You do not stand without help, it is true...
But you stand
And I love you

Bless you, each and every one

Original post here.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Throw Me Away

Proposed antiphon: God blesses us and keeps us, and hereafter will make us new

Sometime in late spring
The pansies were discarded
Dumped in the common area
Behind the houses
Where the blackberries grow
And the morning glories dance
Twisting from cane to cane

There the soil is rich,
Full of grass cuttings and bits of bark
Discarded potting soil
Leaf mould and pine needles -
The detritus of years past

There the essence of green life
Spirals up like slow flame
Through the stems and leaves
Through the curling growing tips
And into the air

You can smell it, see it
Wafting from the full petals
And shining from the generous faces
Of the pansy blooms that grew there
Burgeoning with beauty and life

Throw me away
Cast me aside
Into the dung-heap of creation
Let the sun beat down
And the wild rains fall
Let me bloom

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Get More Signs, Dreams and Visions...


More of the inspiration that you came here for - in a 132 page book available in paperback via Amazon's CreateSpace (here), and in 'e-book' form on Kindle (here).


A great way to give the gift of inspiration, or to take a little bit of the spirit wherever you go!










I'm also pleased to share on this blog the publication of my 'Gospels in Parallel' - a great bible-study and preaching resource that not only shows you parallels between the gospels, but also parallels and prefigurings from the Old Testament. Available via Amazon's CreateSpace (here) and on Kindle (here).