"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul,
'therefore I will hope in him.' "
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
"The Beautiful Changes"
"Your hands hold roses always in a way that says
They are not only yours; the beautiful changes
In such kind ways,
Wishing ever to sunder
Things and thing's selves for a second finding, to lose
For a moment all that it touches back to wonder."
I feel like I keep coming up against this piece of a poem (by Richard Wilbur); you know how there are sometimes passages or characters or descriptions you can't get away from? I've written it over and over again in my journal in different contexts, and it seems to answer all these different questions and struggles without really answering them at all.
Like how a good Father can let his children die.
Like paganism, like how the Gospel doesn't seem to have any power over the hardened sin in this world.
Like how people can love God so fiercely in the absense of their hearts.
I couldn't explain logically how it answers those, but bring in the generosity of God, and those questions turn different colors, run together, become silly, laughing, almost tongue-in-cheek.
If God holds roses in a way that says they are not only his...
Then all the breaking in the world must be like that, must be a gift like everything else.
In such kind ways.
For every loss, ever single loss, a second finding.
They are not only yours; the beautiful changes
In such kind ways,
Wishing ever to sunder
Things and thing's selves for a second finding, to lose
For a moment all that it touches back to wonder."
I feel like I keep coming up against this piece of a poem (by Richard Wilbur); you know how there are sometimes passages or characters or descriptions you can't get away from? I've written it over and over again in my journal in different contexts, and it seems to answer all these different questions and struggles without really answering them at all.
Like how a good Father can let his children die.
Like paganism, like how the Gospel doesn't seem to have any power over the hardened sin in this world.
Like how people can love God so fiercely in the absense of their hearts.
I couldn't explain logically how it answers those, but bring in the generosity of God, and those questions turn different colors, run together, become silly, laughing, almost tongue-in-cheek.
If God holds roses in a way that says they are not only his...
Then all the breaking in the world must be like that, must be a gift like everything else.
In such kind ways.
For every loss, ever single loss, a second finding.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Strawberry
Tear out the creeping weeds
Tear them out deep down
Where the roots gather and tangle together
To bind themselves to the heart
The core of the world
Rip them up, but gently, gently
Do not kill the strawberries
Do not pull only what you see
Uncover first, uncover the
Naked white vessels
Unravel them
And throw them on the fire
You'll need tools with teeth
You'll sweat and maybe bleed
From swellings on your palms
Your knees will grow old and ache
Sacrifices made for strawberries
Even the pretty little flower weeds
Must come out
Don't you want
To drip the sweet pink juice over ice cream
More and more
Let it collect in the bottom of the bowl
And drink it?
In front of a bonfire?
Tear them out deep down
Where the roots gather and tangle together
To bind themselves to the heart
The core of the world
Rip them up, but gently, gently
Do not kill the strawberries
Do not pull only what you see
Uncover first, uncover the
Naked white vessels
Unravel them
And throw them on the fire
You'll need tools with teeth
You'll sweat and maybe bleed
From swellings on your palms
Your knees will grow old and ache
Sacrifices made for strawberries
Even the pretty little flower weeds
Must come out
Don't you want
To drip the sweet pink juice over ice cream
More and more
Let it collect in the bottom of the bowl
And drink it?
In front of a bonfire?
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