Sunflower Poetry

There are those daily surrounded,

by chattering friendly voices.

There are those daily surrounded,

by widely smiling faces.

There are those daily surrounded

and remaining apart from it.

 

There are those daily living

in a crowded solitude.

There are those daily living

along side but not with.

There are those daily living

in the myth of community.

 

There are those daily breathing

in air not their own.

There are those daily breathing

with heaving heavy hearts.

There are those daily breathing

knowing they are invisible.

 

There are those daily reaching

with aching silent need.

There are those daily reaching

for the kinship of fiction.

There are those daily reaching

down to rub aching feet.

 

There are those daily crying

for just one touch.

There are those daily crying

for just one piece of care.

There are those daily crying

for a taste of your life.

 

There are those daily toiling

to feed the monster mouth.

There are those daily toiling

slaves to perception and plans.

There are those daily toiling

to climb a ladder broken.

 

There are those daily smelling

the flowers we call weeds.

There are those daily smelling

the sweaty fear of the trapped.

There are those daily smelling

tiny wisps scented of freedom.

 

There are those daily lifting

burdens not theirs alone.

There are those daily lifting

knees to chest in a march.

There are those daily lifting

the weight of the myth.

 

There are those daily asking

why into a silent void.

There are those daily asking

when into a blowing wind.

There are those daily asking

how to a bound singing bird.

 

There are those daily who are

not more, and not less than you.

There are those daily who are

both more and less than you.

There are those daily who are

weighed wrongly as lacking.

 

There are those daily alone

making feet move forward.

There are those daily alone

sending prayers through tears.

There are those daily alone

reaching through the myth.

 

There are those daily striving

to find meaning in the chaos.

There are those daily striving

to fill a ravenous void.

There are those daily striving

to just keep breath in and out.

 

There are those daily praying

for those they do not know.

There are those daily praying

for that which they cannot hold.

There are those daily praying

for daily bread for body and spirit.

 

There are those daily who reach

to those mired down and alone.

There are those daily who reach

further than themselves.

There are those daily who reach

and find nothing there but air.

 

There are those daily who are

wicked, saintly, compassionate.

There are those daily who are

kind, brave, terrified.

There are those daily who are

nothing like you imagined.

 

We have in our world, and have always had, invisible people. People who for reasons of economics, health, personal conflict and personal choices are either seen as unimportant against a current standard of success or who have perfected their facade to a point where people do not look past the false front to see the real person behind.  We all have times of being invisible in our lives, but to God we are always visible. Always loved. Jesus reached people where they were in illness, sin, despair and through the veil of death.  We daily walk past those who don’t fit. I don’t need to list them – you know who is on the margins of your community, your life.  The strongest person can be the one who needs help the most. The quietest one could be the one with the most to say.  A small child can have greater wisdom than a scholar but who hears him?  I challenge you personally to find at least one person a day that you can connect with – smile, a coffee, a prayer, a handshake, eye contact – that you would normally skim over.  See that person beyond the myth of  our daily importance and see them as a child of God. With value. Beloved. Created. 

 

An open letter to That Friend.

We all have That Friend.

The one who always asks us

first how we are, and listens.

When we catch our breath

and ask her, she says she is

‘fine’ or ‘okay’ or ‘super’.

 

This is for That Friend.

I know you are not always

‘super’ or ‘fine’ or ‘dandy’.

I know you get lonely.

You get sad and mad too.

You put others first so

often that we sometimes

don’t appreciate you enough.

 

This is for That Friend.

The one who always is

ready with a ride, a box,

a hug or a lame joke just

so we can laugh, not cry.

The one who never seems

to need anyone, but I know

you do. I know you do.

 

This is for That Friend.

The one we forget about

and sometimes ignore.

The one who always

says ‘yes’ when we ask

‘do you have time to talk?’

 

This is for That Friend.

The friend I want to be.

The friend I want to be

for you, That Friend,

so when you need me

I can be That Friend

for you.

 

This is for That Friend.

Who always stops to pray.

Who asks us to look a

bit past ourselves and

hopefully helps us see

that there is more in

blessings than we know.

 

This is for That Friend.

Wherever you are,

I am holding you in

my heart and my

prayers. Because you

are just that kind of

friend. Thank you,

for being you.

 

We all have that friend, That Friend, who answers our calls, listens to our drama, finds us a box or a ride, and yes we should all try harder not just to be That Friend but also to thank our friend. She or he is a blessing we don’t always count, and maybe we should.  After all Jesus was That Friend first and showed the way.  To those who are That Friend to me – thank you!

Psalm 100:1

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.

 

 

Gap tooth grin, sound effects movie worthy.

Daddy’s coming home today he shouts.

The sound of joy as he plays a game.

Invents a world. Writes a language of his own.

The sound of joy is wrapped in dirt and looks like my little big boy.

 

I’ve been having a hard day.

The past couple of weeks.

It seems like a hard day.

The last hour or so.

It isn’t like this all the time.

Just some of the moments

between the blessings

are dark and suck you in deep.

It’s noble to be alone it seems.

Lonely seems less noble.

I’m not whining. Really.

Just saying it as it is:

I’m having a hard day

this past couple of hours.

Like a snake leaving trails

in the dust I don’t know

where I am going or why.

Jesus knows, but I don’t.

My faith is unshaken.

Just a bit battered.

My humanness is not

strong enough to be

THIS self reliant.

At least right now.

Being this round

I know I bounce back.

Boing! Boing! Boing!

Just having a hard day

this past little bit.

People respond to you as they are.

This we know is true.

Animals, much different, respond as we are.

Did you know this too?

A dog, a horse, even a cow can tell

and without a word move you.

Animals know us as we are,

there is an honesty in it too.

Forgiving as easily as they breathe

can we do as they do?

People respond to us as they are.

This we know is true.

Can’t we change that?