Poems Category
Secret Soil
Posted on February 28, 2023 Leave a Comment
In the secret soil of the inner being Wisdom is implanted It is not a native vine But only grows by grace Seeds sown in the humus Of sin and shame Watered with blood and hyssop While God grows clean things A heart Broken Contrite Washed Willing Steadfast Delighted True One that is Never despised […]
Dust Returning
Posted on February 22, 2023 Leave a Comment
Dust collects on me As I am dust returning Fading as my possessions do Burning up as yesterday’s logs on the hearth Swirling as on a windy day Stinging my eyes in bewildering chaos I tread on others As they tread on me Souls sticking to soles Lowered and pressed low Tramping fragments of decay […]
Tend Me
Posted on September 1, 2022 1 Comment
Tend me, O Shepherd Lead me to safe pasture To be fed and abide with You I long to walk in an open place A quiet, still expanse Peaceful and self-forgetful Lay me down in rest Reposing, seeking Transport from the noise Expand my soul To this new space Embraced by holy imagination And tend […]
A Year In Review
Posted on January 21, 2022 Leave a Comment
A year in review Peer at heart’s blood spilt Strokes and smudges prove Inky aches, grief, guilt Pen pressed to paper A soul’s life pressed bleeds Self-reliant nat’re Dies, new life receives Deadly peril kills, Makes dead, despairing Of life’s turning thrills; No more even caring And thus delivered Up, deceased, seeking Hope and Source […]
Crushed For a Season
Posted on October 28, 2021 Leave a Comment
Background In this poem I connect the image of winemaking with that of suffering, grief, and growth. The winepress is a symbol both of judgment and discipline as well as celebratory rejoicing. Wine resembles and signifies blood, but it is also a sign of the coming kingdom of God. Suffering and death precede resurrection. A […]
A Poem for Fall: Stillness Moving
Posted on September 9, 2021 Leave a Comment
Background Fall is the best season. Hands down. As the first hint of the changing leaves appear (and college football season gets going) I instinctively rejoice and relish the stretch from Labor Day to Thanksgiving. It doesn’t hurt that this time of year reminds me of when Mary Jane and I fell in love and […]
One Winds the Spiral Down
Posted on April 28, 2021 Leave a Comment
Background I wrote this poem during this past season of Lent. I was inspired by Malcolm Guite’s reflections on different selections of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. In particular, my inspiration came from Guite’s poem “Through the Gate” and the selection of Dante he entitles “Towards a Shining World” from Inferno (lines 133-end) and Purgatory (lines […]
Banish the Brute
Posted on April 22, 2021 1 Comment
Background I wrote this poem a year ago. It came out of a time of wrestling with sorrow and grief — some of which was tinged with frustration with my own sin. I had been reflecting on Psalm 73 (Brian Habig’s sermon on this from a few years ago has continued to stick with me) […]
Springtime’s Dance
Posted on April 12, 2021 Leave a Comment
I wrote this poem last Spring as an exercise in the art of noticing. It’s happy and short — capturing a brief scene of Spring’s green beauty. There is always much to be noticed and enjoyed all around us in the simple nature of things. This is particularly so when the earth returns to life […]
Ambition
Posted on March 27, 2021 Leave a Comment
This is a poem that I originally wrote in November 2019 as a companion to an article I had written for Rooted. I had recently finished reading Jamie Smith’s book On the Road with St. Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts and was particularly inspired by his chapter on ambition — how Augustine’s ambition […]
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