The dawn seeping light into the day
Slowly, slowly, beginning it all again
Fresh hints of
New life
New hope
New start
Everyday
It’s never too late
To begin again
The old way is blocked
Go around
Light shines on a new path
A new idea
Change
Comes with the dawn.
© 2020 Julie Clark
When you need a new rhythm
Old one not working
Wearing you out
Step off, step out and away
Find a quiet place
A lonely place
To think
To listen
Make the changes
To save yourself
© 2020 Julie Clark
A Blessing for those Waiting for Justice and Deliverance
(for those imprisoned in NW China)
In this waiting
Which feels so long, too long
When despair nags at our heels
Bless us with hope,
Bless us with prayers to pray
With names of precious people we know
And do not know
Names and faces of captives and prisoners
We can hold before you
And honor them and honor you, their creator
Bless the space, the time
Between now and their deliverance
May they know your presence,
Your love, your goodness
May they know you hear
The cry of the afflicted
Even if the cry comes
Silently from their hearts
Bless them with
Lifting the heavy burden
With healing their
Broken bodies
Their broken hearts
Lift their heads
Lift their hearts
To hope, to wait, to know
You are coming
and have not
forgotten them
Sorrow follows close
To shroud me
When my gaze
On love wavers
The impossibilities
Of hope
Too much to hold onto
At times
When justice and peace
Slip away
In a mudslide
What I cannot see
Calls me
To look closer
Do you see the courageous ones
who faced
Down their fear
The generous ones who share
What once they hoarded
Do you see
The peacemakers plowing fields
with what once
were weapons
The trusting ones letting go
Of all they thought
They needed to control
Change is happening
In incremental steps
Think of what happens
With seeds
Or yeast
Explosion of life
About to happen
All around us
Keep doing good
And growing
Into the person
You are and truly want to be
© Julie Clark 2019
I have been hearing this phrase more and more lately. It’s a handy little phrase. I’ve used it myself many times when I am struggling to understood an issue or a situation. It is true that life is complicated, human beings are complicated, but I feel like this phrase can be used now as an excuse, a way of not getting involved. It is a way of distancing oneself from a messy perhaps dangerous situation. There are numerous situations going on around the world that are both messy and dangerous.
I wonder in a revised version of the Good Samaritan story if one of the religious leaders who crossed the street away from the poor guy beaten and left for dead may have mumbled to himself as he hurried away – “It’s complicated…maybe he deserved what he got or maybe he has a contagious disease, or worse if I stop and help maybe someone will get me next!”
Last night I attended a vigil, calling for an end of the inhumane detention of immigrants in our country. I was heartened to see the church where the vigil was hosted packed out. More and more people are outraged at the news that is coming out and wanting to get involved or at least learn about what is happening. It was helpful to hear from women who themselves endured the indignity of being locked up and treated as a criminal. (No it is not illegal to seek asylum.) Both women mentioned how terrible it was to witness the way children were treated. One saw the the agents tearing children away from their parents.
There are numerous things we can do to help. We can raise our voices for the voiceless. We can contact our representatives both federally and locally. We can volunteer, we can donate, we can educate ourselves and help others understand. We each can do something.
Let faith have wings that lift us to pray
Let hope have eyes that look for solutions
Let love have feet that move us to action
May we take a risk to love our neighbors who are in great need rather than turn our backs on them because “it’s complicated”.
I do not know what the answers are to good immigration reform. I need to learn. I do know inhumane treatment of immigrants is not one them. Another phrase I am hearing that I like much better is “This is not a political issue it is a moral issue.”
Photo by Life Of Pix on Pexels.com
(This poem is dedicated to those imprisoned in concentration camps and their families in Northwest China.)
What else can I do
But continue to speak up and out
For the ones locked in
And the ones locked out
They are separated from family
From community and their beloved land
From health and safety
Their hearts are tormented
And their bodies are broken
They are in anguish and pain
Can you hear them and lend your voice?
What else can I do
But pray and cry out
For the ones locked in
And the ones locked out
For the ones I know and do not know
To ask the One whom death could not hold
Who razor wire and prison gates
Cannot keep out
To walk among these people
Locked in and locked out
To call them by name
To comfort
To give courage
To give hope
To heal
To restore
To lift up
To set free
To rise like the sun
And bring a new day
© 2019 Julie Clark
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com
The mysteries
Of all we do not know
They are more than
The riches some heap
While others go without
They are more than
The wars against body and soul
The what ifs and the whys
The pit of sorrows we fall into
The crushing weight of grief
The mysteries
Of all we do not know
The greatest is love
That holds us when all is gone
That leads us to treasure
At the end of a dark tunnel
It runs through us and to us
Lifting us and helping us
To breathe and to live
And one day hope again
© 2019 Julie Clark
Self Examination
Heart weigh and dissect
Examine content with care
Cold stone or warm love
Breathe
Can peace rule my day
Or worry fret it away
A deep breath will help
Deciduous
Trees finish their work
Shedding of best future hopes
Are we listening
© Julie Clark
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Let’s take care of the earth
All people
Everywhere
It is our only home.
The stars and the planets
Are too far away.
They were not given to us
To inhabit with these bodies,
but to guide and inspire.
We can be
The gentle
The meek,
The careful
Who inherit the earth.
We can think of our children
And their children
And their children’s children.
We can share her resources
We do not need to hoard them
She has enough for us all.
Enjoy her beauty
She feeds your souls
Be inspired to create
More beauty
More abundance
We can do this together.
© 2018 Julie Clark
Photo by Tobi on Pexels.com
After the Royal Wedding this last weekend, I want to reblog these poems. I was very inspired by Bishop Michael Curry who encouraged us to think and imagine a world where love is the way. There is power in love to transform us and our world. Thinking and imagining what that world would look like will help to point us in that direction! It will help get our feet moving to do the good that we can do one step at a time. Let’s get moving!
When the seams of life unravel
When fog blurs vision
The way forward is obscured
When positions are hardened
Anger flares
Resolution and reconciliation
Seem millions of miles away
Remember
The greatest of all is love
It is the pulse that runs the universe
Slow down and listen
Feel it running through
Your veins
Ask the question –
What does love look like?
Give imagination free rein
Wait for your thoughts to form
Then get ready
Bring a friend, sister or brother
Go do that good
You are inspired to do.
© 2017 Julie Clark
Be Your Best
Be your best
Come alive
Breathe in life
Inspire me
With your love
With your courage
Be your best
Find a way
Show the way
I will follow
Be my best
Together we
Sow the seeds
Of love and courage
© 2017 Julie Clark
