Homeless

My neighbor

Discovered evidence

Of some critter

Living behind his shed.

He blocked off

The space between

The house and the shed

With a piece of scrap lumber.

Tonight,

When I let Lucy out

We noticed a possum standing there

Where the space used to be.

She (I imagine it as a “she”)

Looked confused, puzzled

Wondering what had happened

To what had once been her home.

She was blocked,

No longer welcome.

And my heart ached for her.

I understood what she was feeling.

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Qavah

Wait expectantly?

I’ve been waiting

On pins and needles

For decades.

How many years

Did Sarah wait?

How many times

Did Hannah plead her case?

I’ve been waiting.

On pins and needles.

For decades.

The pins feel sharper now. 

The needles pierce my heart

To the point of shedding blood.

But you already know about that,

Don’t you?

Being pierced,

Shedding blood.

So, I’ll wait some more

On painful pins and needles.

On You will I wait

For You to keep Your promise.

Tension #1

I saw a picture of you today.
You wore a big smile and you looked genuinely happy.
And I was happy you were happy
(though a part of me wished you were unhappy and missing me).

That I was happy you are happy
just confirmed what I always knew;
that what I felt for you,
what I still feel for you
is,
was,
always will be
love.

True love.

And my hearts breaks all over again.

Definitions

Dedicated to my Pastor, Rev. H Leon Ben-Ezra on the occasion of his retirement

def·i·ni·tions

You taught us what those church words meant

Always pointing to the One He sent.

“Believe the gospel. First repent.”

You taught us definitions.

Through many sermons some of us wept

And I confess through some I slept

But even so, I did not forget

All those definitions.

Hope – waiting on God His promises to keep.

Joy is optimism

Glory – His beauty that runs so deep.

You taught us definitions.

“It always begins with prayer!”

You showed us to not despair

For when your life was not so fair

You lived those definitions.

And now it’s off to Illinois you go;

To Peoria and Chicago

But as you leave always know

You’ve left us with true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy

Definitions.

Ill-Fitting

A gift

They say,

Chosen

Just for you.

Be thankful

They say.

But I don’t like it!

It’s the wrong size

And the material is scratchy.

It’s a coat that’s too small;

A straight jacket

That restrains me,

Trapping in all the

Love and passion

I want to give!

And receive.

It’s a shirt

Four sizes too big.

Room enough for two,

But I wear it alone!

I’m lonely and lost

Inside it's billowing cloth.

You had ugly,

Uncomfortable outfits, too.

Torn, blood-stained robes,

A painful crown of thorns.

Unfit for most

But shameful, humiliating

For a King!

You donned

That wardrobe

So my crimson clothes

Would be white as wool.

There is at least

One wedding dress

In my future,

Though I’d like there to be two.

It’s perfectly tailored,

Sized to my form.

It does more than hide

My figure’s flaws,

It fixes them completely!

The material is soft

Against my skin,

Comforting.

Making me forget

Every hurt I’ve ever felt;

Healing every

Scrape, scar and bruise,

And drying every tear.

Every one.

That dress

Hangs in a closet

In a room far away;

But not far away really.

Because long ago,

Before you wore

Those torn, blood-stained robes

And had that crown of thorns

Pushed down on your

Tender scalp,

You willing donned

Swaddling clothes

So I could someday

Meet you

Wearing the gown

You made for me.

The Perfect Storm

I struggled against the fierce storm,
   battling strong winds
      which blew me off course.

                           The heat of passion

                       met the coolness of rejection
                    ran in to the drench of tears
                 to form the perfect storm;
              a confluence of sadness and despair
         which threatened to overpower me
      and drag me away to the dark place.
  But lightning struck
and lit my path

   revealing where I was,

      where I was heading,

          and the path back

            To Your refuge.

         "Undone"+Sword+sovereignty.

      Sin+repentance+eternity
   met to form
another perfect storm
   where grace rained down
        and drenched me in redemption.

A Fractured Fairytale

My heart leapt up when I beheld the rainbow in the sky, the sign of the promise. But I jumped into an empty swimming pool. Now I await for my King, Himself to do what all his horses and men were unable, to put me back together.