Category: Poetry

The Intern

Nose in a book, and hands dancing on the keyboard
Making notes, hoping to discover a connection
The intern decides it is time to make a major contribution
She sits, says “meow” and the notes vanish into asegasgdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Psalm 145

Always, I will praise you Lord
Because you are worthy of praise
Continually I will sing Your praises
Daily I am overwhelmed by Your greatness

Every generation remembers your deeds
For you brought salvation to our people
Great and everlasting is your mercy
Happiness fills those who hear your voice

I will meditate on your glory
Justice is defined by your Law
King above all kings
LORD above all Lords

Merciful are your deeds
Nations praise you for them
Our salvation is from you Lord
Praise flows from every lip

Quickly your salvation comes
Rest comes for all who are weary
Sight comes for those once blind
Today is the day of our salvation

Undying is your mercy
Vast is your love
We thank you for your deeds
Xeric lands were made fruitful by your hands

You protect us as a fortress
Zealous is your love for us

work

The labor appears endless
The idea of finishing impossible
The mind fills with what must be done
The first reaction is to run away

Yet the hands start to labor
Hours pass, and task after task falls away
Blisters form, and muscles ache
But the end begins to be in sight

Labor is good for the soul
Beauty is discovered, buried under rubble
Labor exposes that beauty
If love does anything, love works

The day ends, labor is finished
Clothing peeling off for the shower
White under socks, showing the thick layer of dirt
Showing, it feels good to be clean again

Sleep is sweet
Tomorrow, back to work

Reading Psalm 105

Praise God for a history of blessings
We have such a long history
God has blessed us time and again
Let us remember:

Sometimes even survival seems impossible
Tomorrow’s breath seems like it will be a miracle
Yet somehow there is enough
I still breathe

It seems that there is no justice in the world
The good work so that the evil may prosper
Yet somehow there is still Good in the world
And there is hope for both justice and redemption

There are great stories from generations past
Whole societies being turned on their heads
There are stories of slavery being ended
God’s justice poured out upon the oppressors

The stories seem so far removed
It feels like there are so few left
The prophets say it was because we forgot
Are there blessings in Babylon?

Yet even here there is survival
Though we are under foreign rule, we hold on
Our history tells us that God saves God’s people
And we sing: “Even though, it is well with my soul.”

Hope

Hope is a strange thing
The heart seeks it out
How unlikely does not matter
One in a million is enough

Fear and hope exist together
In the end, the fears win
Death and suffering are all life promises
To be buried with just the clothes on the back

Yet we still hope
Even when counting days to the grave
Perhaps God will grant another year
Perhaps this month, the bills will be paid

We hope until we die
Hoping to meet a loving God
Knowing that life did not judge us well
Yet hoping that God is more merciful than this world

Hope is a strange thing
But it is a very human thing

I pray for a miracle

We live in a world that places revenge above justice
My faith teaches mercy and forgiveness
It seems mercy is nowhere to be found
I pray for a miracle

Every day there are whispers of my neighbor’s sinfulness
Condemnation without her ever able to answer the accusations
The Bible I read puts gossip next to murder when listing sins
I pray for a miracle

I read how all of humanity was created in God’s image
How cursing another invalidates the praise of God
Yet these blessings and cursing fall from my own mouth
I pray for a miracle

I do not love as well as Christ taught me
Studying does little but teach me how little I understand
What I do understand seems impossible… so
I pray for a miracle