(based on Luke 6 - not one of the better poems)
Now you've got me thinking
am I the rich young ruler?
too rich? too full?
Why is it wrong to laugh now?
and for men to speak well of me?
I don't understand the difference
joyful follower or mourner?
right after you called us friends of the bridegroom
It sounds to me like being happy is wrong
or maybe it just shouldn't be my goal.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
LUke 4:14-30
And they say you were the Great Teacher
but I don't understand
the mysteries written here
how you were rejected in your own land
even after all had marveled and testified
was it because you were Joseph's son?
or maybe because really, you weren't?
And then, though they seized you,
you still went on your way
How can it be?
Fully God, fully man
yet so few could see.
but I don't understand
the mysteries written here
how you were rejected in your own land
even after all had marveled and testified
was it because you were Joseph's son?
or maybe because really, you weren't?
And then, though they seized you,
you still went on your way
How can it be?
Fully God, fully man
yet so few could see.
John The Baptist
For your reading enjoyment, I will be posting a series of poems written while I studied the book of Luke last year. They're sort of raw, but I like most of them. I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to study more and fill out the missing chapters and significant parts for which I didn't have any profoundness to offer. But for now, let's begin with Chapter 3.
Did you wander in the desert
to get their attention
and eat off the land
because you had no choice?
Why did you have to be so different?
a radical
a sign of things to come
a shadow of truth
producing fruit
and keeping with repentance
Making the way for the King
And why you, among all others--destined
the greatest of those born of women.
How did you understand
when no one else did?
And did the Spirit pass from you
to Him in
that holy moment at the Jordan
Behold my Son
Behold the Lamb
You knew. You foretold
your kin--a cousin to you, but still more
Savior of all mankind
The fulfillment of all the law and the prophets
and you dunked him in the water like all the others
as if he had anything to repent.
Did you wander in the desert
to get their attention
and eat off the land
because you had no choice?
Why did you have to be so different?
a radical
a sign of things to come
a shadow of truth
producing fruit
and keeping with repentance
Making the way for the King
And why you, among all others--destined
the greatest of those born of women.
How did you understand
when no one else did?
And did the Spirit pass from you
to Him in
that holy moment at the Jordan
Behold my Son
Behold the Lamb
You knew. You foretold
your kin--a cousin to you, but still more
Savior of all mankind
The fulfillment of all the law and the prophets
and you dunked him in the water like all the others
as if he had anything to repent.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Treasures
Sunday night at 10 pm, Daniel and I were sitting on the couch watching the series finale of Battlestar Galactica (pretty good, by the way), when a knock came on the door. A friendly kind of knock. It's always a little unnerving when someone knocks that late, but Daniel opened the door cautiously to see what the stranger wanted. There stood a middle-aged man wearing a bseball cap. He'd had a few too many drinks, evident from his slurred speech and strange behavior. But he wasn't threatening. He told us this had been his grandparents' house. After a friendly interrogation to make sure he wasn't making it up, he told us that he just wanted to see the shower in the basement because he'd left a hotwheels up on the cement rafters and he wanted to see if it was still there. Straange. He'd left lots of things around the house, but of course, when we got it (sold by the owners' estate) there hadn't been anything left behind. (although we did find two very old picture books under the floor boards upstairs, adn the grandson assured us that there were hotwheels up there too).
It got me to thinking, though, about how kids treasure things differently than adults do. When I was a kid, if I had a treasure, I often would hide it. Or put in a place for safe keeping. One time I spent about a week working at cutting up a golf ball with a hack saw so I could see what was inside. I cracked it open like an egg and found an endless ball of rubber bands. I stuck all of the pieces in an egg carton and hid it behind a bush out by the shop. I think my brothers found it anyway.
I can still show you the hiding places at my parents' house. Probably, if I could still crawl into that one crawl space, we would find some of those treasure that, as I had grown, were left forgotten, waiting to be found by some curious children in the future.
I had this pringles can decorated to look like a nutcracker. We made them in forth grade. I used it to store all of my "treasures", which was an actual collection of things I'd found. Nothing special AT ALL. Literally, things I'd found lying on the bus floors or buried in the pea gravel on the playground. This plastic ring with an Egyptian mummy, a keychain clamp, a polished rock, things like that. Stupid things. But they were mine and I treasured them.
Now that I'm grown, the things I treasure aren't so much tangible things. They're people, of course, and relationships. They're memories and letters and photographs mostly. I can't really store them in a Pringles can, but I don't want to forget them. Which is why I've kept around notebooks full of stupid stories from middle school, journals and photo albums. I remember now, but I might not in twenty years.
What about you? What are your treasures? What do you do to keep them close to you?
It got me to thinking, though, about how kids treasure things differently than adults do. When I was a kid, if I had a treasure, I often would hide it. Or put in a place for safe keeping. One time I spent about a week working at cutting up a golf ball with a hack saw so I could see what was inside. I cracked it open like an egg and found an endless ball of rubber bands. I stuck all of the pieces in an egg carton and hid it behind a bush out by the shop. I think my brothers found it anyway.
I can still show you the hiding places at my parents' house. Probably, if I could still crawl into that one crawl space, we would find some of those treasure that, as I had grown, were left forgotten, waiting to be found by some curious children in the future.
I had this pringles can decorated to look like a nutcracker. We made them in forth grade. I used it to store all of my "treasures", which was an actual collection of things I'd found. Nothing special AT ALL. Literally, things I'd found lying on the bus floors or buried in the pea gravel on the playground. This plastic ring with an Egyptian mummy, a keychain clamp, a polished rock, things like that. Stupid things. But they were mine and I treasured them.
Now that I'm grown, the things I treasure aren't so much tangible things. They're people, of course, and relationships. They're memories and letters and photographs mostly. I can't really store them in a Pringles can, but I don't want to forget them. Which is why I've kept around notebooks full of stupid stories from middle school, journals and photo albums. I remember now, but I might not in twenty years.
What about you? What are your treasures? What do you do to keep them close to you?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Writer's Lament
It's a windy, rainy, cold night, and I'm sitting here alone (well, not alone, but without adult company and with two sort of sleeping children, which is about as alone as I ever get these days) for the first time, it seems, since Jayna was born. This is "free time", I suppose. I should go and change out laundry loads or clean my really messy house, or at least start the dishwasher, but instead, I'm sitting at the computer, waiting for emails and facebook updates. It's a big waste of time, really.
I want to write. I've been trying to squeeze in a few minutes a day to work on a short story but it's making extremely slow progress. I usually finish a short story in a few sittings, and then edit it later. No luck this time. It's a very inspired story, but I have such short incitements of time.
While this was all happening, I got an email from the Christian Writer's Guild. It's the alumni newsletter, telling about all of the people who have gotten published thanks to the CWG's correspondence courses. Blah blah blah. People who have extra time, I guess [tongue in cheek].
One of the posts was a girl I actually knew. I met her at the one writing conference I went to, and we got along really well. but after promising to write, she didn't really respond to any of my emails, and she got a job for a publisher and disappeared. I acutally thought she might have been a publisher-spy who goes to conferences and plays nice and steals peoples' ideas when they share them. I don't think she was. She got her novel published. Lucky (said in the famous Napoleon Dynamite voice). It made me antsy and impatient. I want this time of life to be over so I can get on with writing, not to mention enjoying my life.
It's not like I don't have material. I probably should start sending out letters and meeting publishers, because I have more novels finished than I could ever publish (unless I meet a fantastic agent or someone who wants to help me get them all in print). Whatever. Maybe I'll enter a contest and win my way to fame and fourtune. That'd be fun.
I'm rambling now. This post has no point, except to express my lamentations. I wish... I wish... I wish... And I hear the mom's voice in my head saying "don't wish your life away", and "if you want it bad enough, you'll work for it". So that's all I have to say. Good night. I must go change a pooopy diaper and fold some laundry now. Hello life.
I want to write. I've been trying to squeeze in a few minutes a day to work on a short story but it's making extremely slow progress. I usually finish a short story in a few sittings, and then edit it later. No luck this time. It's a very inspired story, but I have such short incitements of time.
While this was all happening, I got an email from the Christian Writer's Guild. It's the alumni newsletter, telling about all of the people who have gotten published thanks to the CWG's correspondence courses. Blah blah blah. People who have extra time, I guess [tongue in cheek].
One of the posts was a girl I actually knew. I met her at the one writing conference I went to, and we got along really well. but after promising to write, she didn't really respond to any of my emails, and she got a job for a publisher and disappeared. I acutally thought she might have been a publisher-spy who goes to conferences and plays nice and steals peoples' ideas when they share them. I don't think she was. She got her novel published. Lucky (said in the famous Napoleon Dynamite voice). It made me antsy and impatient. I want this time of life to be over so I can get on with writing, not to mention enjoying my life.
It's not like I don't have material. I probably should start sending out letters and meeting publishers, because I have more novels finished than I could ever publish (unless I meet a fantastic agent or someone who wants to help me get them all in print). Whatever. Maybe I'll enter a contest and win my way to fame and fourtune. That'd be fun.
I'm rambling now. This post has no point, except to express my lamentations. I wish... I wish... I wish... And I hear the mom's voice in my head saying "don't wish your life away", and "if you want it bad enough, you'll work for it". So that's all I have to say. Good night. I must go change a pooopy diaper and fold some laundry now. Hello life.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Catching my Breath
Things have been pretty crazy at our house. I really didn't expect a second baby to be so much more work. I don't know why. Jayna is a lot more work than Arlene was so maybe that's the big difference. I did expect big changes, and that we have gotten. :o) Slowly, new things are starting to feel like normal.
Mostly all that's interesting in my life right now is what I'm reading. Since I'm feeding Jayna so often, I have quite a bit of time to read. I decided to catch up on some of the fiction books that have been on my shelf for a long time. I'm not a super big fan of fiction, but once I get started on a book, I usually want to finish it asap.
Here's a list of what I've read or started recently:
Persuasion by Jane Austin (I'm sorry to admit, I lost interest in the second chapter and haven't finished it)
Troublesome Creek by Jane Watson - I liked it so much that I actually bought the sequel (brand new, which I never do) shortly after I finished it. The sequel is Willow Springs, and good news! There's a third one! It takes place at the turn of the century, and it's a story about a girl from the Kentucky mountains. In the first one she's mostly just growing up, and it's a series of little stories about her and her family. In the second one, she moves to the city and it's about what she does there with her husband. I'm really good at synopsies, aren't I?
Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor - The writing style was really annoying. I'd started the book several times and not gotten interested, but this time I decided I'd finish it. It's about a lady who gets stuck in Montana after being scammed by her boss who's actually ripping off a big drug lord. She has to escape and ends up finding refuge with an ex-marshall who lives in a ghost town. It's one of those stupid romances, and I really didn't like it that much. Some people would. Mostly it annoyed me because I have a feeling the author hasn't been in Montana or met a real cowboy. (But who has?)
A Family Apart by Joan Lorway Nixon In my opinion, Joan Lorway Nixon is an excellent author. I think she's maybe a little twisted with some of her novels, but her historical fiction is kind of cool. This is a book in the Orphan Train Quartet that I read in middle school and really liked. So I picked it up again. I really liked it again. It's about a family of six kids who get sent to live in the west during the pre civil war time period.
On my To Read List:
A Tale of Three Kings bby Gene Edwards - a friend loaned me his when I was in high school dealing with issues the church had brought into my life. I didn't finish it because I had to return it, but I've always wanted to, so I bought my own copy to read.
The Seeing by Bill Myers - Bill Myers is one of my favorite authors. THis is a spiritual suspense novel in the Soul Tracker series. Not my first pick for genres, but I like Bill Myers, and I think he has some good things to say about creepy spiritual things.
There's my reading list. What's on yours? Do you have anything to recommend?
Mostly all that's interesting in my life right now is what I'm reading. Since I'm feeding Jayna so often, I have quite a bit of time to read. I decided to catch up on some of the fiction books that have been on my shelf for a long time. I'm not a super big fan of fiction, but once I get started on a book, I usually want to finish it asap.
Here's a list of what I've read or started recently:
Persuasion by Jane Austin (I'm sorry to admit, I lost interest in the second chapter and haven't finished it)
Troublesome Creek by Jane Watson - I liked it so much that I actually bought the sequel (brand new, which I never do) shortly after I finished it. The sequel is Willow Springs, and good news! There's a third one! It takes place at the turn of the century, and it's a story about a girl from the Kentucky mountains. In the first one she's mostly just growing up, and it's a series of little stories about her and her family. In the second one, she moves to the city and it's about what she does there with her husband. I'm really good at synopsies, aren't I?
Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor - The writing style was really annoying. I'd started the book several times and not gotten interested, but this time I decided I'd finish it. It's about a lady who gets stuck in Montana after being scammed by her boss who's actually ripping off a big drug lord. She has to escape and ends up finding refuge with an ex-marshall who lives in a ghost town. It's one of those stupid romances, and I really didn't like it that much. Some people would. Mostly it annoyed me because I have a feeling the author hasn't been in Montana or met a real cowboy. (But who has?)
A Family Apart by Joan Lorway Nixon In my opinion, Joan Lorway Nixon is an excellent author. I think she's maybe a little twisted with some of her novels, but her historical fiction is kind of cool. This is a book in the Orphan Train Quartet that I read in middle school and really liked. So I picked it up again. I really liked it again. It's about a family of six kids who get sent to live in the west during the pre civil war time period.
On my To Read List:
A Tale of Three Kings bby Gene Edwards - a friend loaned me his when I was in high school dealing with issues the church had brought into my life. I didn't finish it because I had to return it, but I've always wanted to, so I bought my own copy to read.
The Seeing by Bill Myers - Bill Myers is one of my favorite authors. THis is a spiritual suspense novel in the Soul Tracker series. Not my first pick for genres, but I like Bill Myers, and I think he has some good things to say about creepy spiritual things.
There's my reading list. What's on yours? Do you have anything to recommend?
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