3.02.2014

Ash Wednesday (2014)


Sinners 
approach the altar
to accept the dirt cross
and hear the words
said to the first couple.

After this holy event,
we leave the temple
with Cain's mark of 
protection.

But unlike Adam's progeny,
who wandered
east of Eden,
we place our trust
in the One
who tells us
He knows
the way
home.

Messiah

A young fugitive who comes to a town where the people are willing to take him in and hide him. When soldiers arrive in search of the fugitive, the townspeople protest that they know nothing. Suspecting their lie, the soldiers warn that, unless the fugitive is turned over by morning, the entire town will be destroyed.

In deep fear the people rush to their pastor for counsel. The priest, greatly troubled, starts searching scripture for an answer. All night he reads and finds nothing. Then, just before dawn, his eyes fall on a passage, 'It is better that one man should die for the people than the whole people be lost.'

He is sure that's the answer, and goes to the people with the news. The soldiers are informed that the fugitive is indeed hidden among them, and the young man is taken away. They throw a big party in the town, lasting far into the night, and celebrate their deliverance by the grace of God.

But the pastor returns to his study, still troubled. An angel appears to him and asks what's the problem. 'I still don't feel right about turning over the fugitive,' the pastor says. The angel replies, 'Did you know that he was the Messiah?'

The pastor is incredulous. 'How was I to know?' he asks. 'If, instead of reading your Bible,' the angel replies, 'you had taken time to visit the young man and looking into his eyes, you would have known he was the Messiah.'

Silent God

This is my prayer—
That, though I may not see,
I be aware
Of the Silent God
Who stands by me.
That, though I may not feel,
I be aware
Of the Mighty Love
Which doggedly follows me.
That, though I may not respond,
I be aware
That God—my Silent, Mighty God,
Waits each day.
Quietly, hopefully, persistently.
Waits each day and through each night
For me.
For me—alone.

Edwina Gateley

2.23.2014

Falling off the Charts


From 
age one to 
middle age 44,
homicide is among
the top five ways 
to die
in America.

Then after the mature age of 45,
killing is not even in the 
top 10.

I wonder -
did we learn to love
our neighbor
or
did we crush
all our enemies?

Number One with a Bullet


Accidents do happen.
Leading cause of death 
from ages one
to forty-four.

Then from forty-five
to sixty-four 
cancer leads the way.
Or as the researchers call it
Malignant Neoplasms. 

And then for the remaining years,
poor maintenance
and regrets
causes the heart to break.  

The Archangel Gabriel

Leo Tolstoy

Once upon a time, the archangel Gabriel heard the voice of God speaking from Paradise, blessing someone.
Gabriel said, "Surely this is some important servant of my Lord, God the Father. He must be a great saint, a hermit or wise man." 

The archangel went down to earth looking for the man, but he could not find him, neither on earth nor in heaven. Then he addressed God and said, "Oh Lord, my God, please show me how to find the object of your love."

God answered him, "Go this village. And there, in a little temple, you will see a fire."

The angel went down to the temple, and he found a man praying before an idol. Then Gabriel went back to God and said, "Lord, how can you look with love upon this idol worshipper?"


God said, "It is true that he does not understand me properly. Not one man living is capable of understanding me as I am. The wisest of the whole human race are just as far from really understanding me as this man is. I look not at his mind, but at his heart. The heart of this man searches for me, and therefore he is close to me.

2.16.2014

Someone Got Told


I wonder if 
after the mother's retort
to Jesus,
the teenaged Mark said
 the Aramaic equivalent of:
“Oh snap, Jesus!”
before witnessing
a God who could 
change His mind.

"Unsuffer Me"

Unlock my love
And set me free
Come fill me up
With ecstasy

Surround my heartbeat
With your fingertips
Unbound my feet
Untie my wrists

Come in to my world
Of loneliness
And wickedness
And bitterness
Unlock my love

Unsuffer me
Take away the pain
Unbruise, unbloody
Wash away the stain
Anoint my head
With your sweet kiss
My joy is dead
I long for bliss

I long for knowledge
Whisper in my ear
Undo my logic, undo my fear
Unsuffer me

Lucinda Williams


The Greatest Goal Ever -6/22/86

Maradona has the ball, 
two mark him, 
he touches the ball. 

The genius of world football 
dashes to the right 
and leaves the third 
and is going to pass to Burruchaga. 
It’s still Maradona! 

Genius! Genius! Genius! 
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. 
Gooooooooooal! Gooooooooooal! 

I want to cry! Dear God! 
Long live football! 
Gooooooooooal! Diegoal! Maradona! 

It’s enough to make you cry, 
forgive me. 
Maradona, in an unforgettable run, 
in the play of all time. 

Cosmic kite! What planet are you from? 
Leaving in your wake so many Englishmen, 
so that the whole country is a clenched fist 
shouting for Argentina? 

Argentina 2, England 0. 
Diegoal, Diegoal, Diego Armando Maradona. 

Thank you, God, 
for football, 
for Maradona, 
for these tears, 
for this, 
Argentina 2, England 0.

VICTOR HUGO MORALES’S RADIO ARGENTINA COMMENTARY

Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiYYSradplU

2.09.2014

City of Blinding Lights


The town on the hill
was blessed with a 
great light.

The poor
the lame
the weak
from the 
surrounding villages
saw the light
but could not go up
the hill
to experience the light.

They shouted up to
the town
to bring the light 
down the hill 
and to their villages.

But the town said, 
"No. There are too many technical issues.

Will the darkness swallow up the light?

Will we lose some (or all!) of the light
if we give it away?

What can you give us in
exchange for the light?

We will have to examine this
in much further detail
before we do anything."

The Accused

Just as he locked the door, as he pocketed the key,
as he glanced over his shoulder, they arrested him.
They tortured him until they tired of it.
‘Look,’ they said,
‘the key is your key, the house is your house,
we accept that now; but why did you put the key
in your pocket as if to hide it from us?’

They let him go, but his name is still on a list.

Yannis Ritsos
translated from the Greek by David Harsent

Thanks, Mr. Sun

I’m thankful the sun starts slow
and glides in a graceful burning
arc across the firmament. I don’t
think I could handle life if ole’ Sol
was a herky-jerky-shakey-jake.
Mr. Sun stays in his own lane,
daily commuting with polite constancy,
never nervous about missing
something like a primo parking spot.
For a fireball it seems to have it all
together, unshyly shining golden on
this blue-born world’s flappable.

John Blase

2.02.2014

Aftermath

I think the Rapture is bunk.
But
 imagine an aftermath
of:

Insurance companies getting religion
and declaring the Rapture
an Act of God
as they stiff their policy-holders.

Consider a sight of
 several hundred million children 
gone off to the Kingdom.

Elementary school teachers 
 to teach the ones 
that were left behind.

The one per-centers
texting: WTF
Where did the help go?

The pastor who
didn't get caught up in the clouds
wondering if
 he would have a flock to tend?

Bullies will miss their patsies.
Patrons will remember their bartenders.
High school kids will revere the cheerleader.
And gossips will ask, 
"Why her? /Why him?"

And all the while,
me and you 
will go through
the departed's
fridges and garages
prepping ourselves for
the Final Days.