“There is a rest in love. A pause, a trusting pause before a spinning world. A place of mending when the threads have come undone. Lord, you calm my resisting soul. You hush the voice of urgency, of panic, of alarm. You call down severity, diminish need. You tender me to silence, loving, curing silence. […]
Roots, Relationships, and a Seagull
The parsley and the basil roots pant for water as they bake in their biodegradable pots. I meant to sink them deep long before this. And the geranium 6-pack baskets, bought over a month ago when spring exploded early? Once luscious red, now with browned heads. I need perennials. Plants that thrive and spread […]
Because the Father Turned His Face (Repost)
He came on a colt. The fragrance of His coming preceded Him. A King bent on a peace mission. Hailed in the name of the Lord. But hearts would harden, spittle would fly, and fists would fall. Bone-and-metal-tipped strips would find their marks. He would be ripped apart like the temple curtain. Thorns would gash […]
When You Wait for Love…And Wait…And Wait…
. . . and your heart aches like the hollow of your hungry stomach. At least like your stomach used to feel. Because now something called Compassion has opened a program near your home. There’s food there. And you can go to school and learn to read and write. And you can learn about how […]
Of Sore Throats and Green Hearts
She’s crying. “My throat hurts.” I feel her forehead and then go rummage in the bathroom drawer–through dumped Band-Aid boxes, ointments, alcohol wipes, the outer ring of an adhesive tape roll, a plastic medicine cup, a nasal syringe, and spilled cough drops to find the thermometer. “Open your mouth.” I shine the flashlight into […]
The Ache of Answered Prayer
It never leaves, this ache. I can press it down, punch at it like bread dough, pat it into a nice ball, and cover it up. But still, sometimes it spills. I think of Elizabeth, barren in her old age. Heart and arms heavy with the ache of it. As time passed, maybe she […]
Sweet Red Symphony
Love whispers petals crushed on tongues of salty grief that bleed a sweet red symphony and rises on the wings of hope. Words would just not come this month for Tweetspeak Poetry’s February prompt of red. So today I played with magnetic words and came up with these few brief lines. Though he […]
Of Bunions and Bubble Wrap
Electric blue gleams when I pull down the green box door. It’s addressed to me. What on earth? I recognize the return label. I know her own heart has been aching lately, and she thinks of me? Again? I think about doing things like this. But my hands don’t always follow my head or my […]
Of Love and Ducks
“Stop! Go back!” I reach for the camera and pop the lens cap off. He brakes immediately and turns around in the next drive. “Should I stop on this side of the road or go past and come back?” “Just stop, and I’ll jump out.” I do–and slam the car door. Not a good idea. […]
Of Tempers and Toothpaste
We are running late. She’s still in the bathroom. Door closed. Dawdling, I’m sure. I knock gently and turn the knob. Not. I barge in just in time to catch tongue against tip of toothpaste tube. I smile sweetly. “What are you doing?” Not! I yell. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” I take […]
