(A poem for Earth Day in response to the words of Jesus where he says in Mark 16:15 proclaim the gospel to all creation.)
What is Good News?
To a river
To the sky
To a forest
To the trees
To the ocean
To the birds
To the bugs
To the bees
To the lakes
To the mountains
To the critters
In the seas
To all people
To the planet
To all creatures
You and me
So let us turn
Instead of burn
Let us listen
Let us learn
Let us practice
Let us preach
Until renewal
Is within reach
There he is again
The little boy showing up
Holding his broken heart
Looking for that love
That never seems to be enough
There she is again
The little girl hiding behind
Her mother’s skirt
Not sure the world
Is a safe place after all
These wounds we carry
From there to here
From then to now
Haunt us from time to time
When they show up
Pay attention
Reassure
The child within
Yes, there is enough
To go around
Yes, love will take us through
All the way
To the end
© 2022 December Julie Clark
With the surge in mass shootings and other forms of violence that have left families and communities broken hearted and grieving I offer this poem.
Thoughts and Prayers
No thank you
If you mean
That you are off the hook
For doing anything good
To stop this violence
No thank you
If you mean
You can let another
Year go by without
Courageously
Tackling this issue
Of gun violence
Unless you mean
The kind of prayer
Where you think and dream
With the Divine
A new path forward
Where you roll up your sleeves
And get to work
To put that new plan
Into effect
If you mean the kind of prayer
That looks first into your own heart
To see if you are complicit
In anyway to this violence
By turning your back
On those who are grieving
Their loved ones gunned
Down before their time
If you mean the kind of prayer
Where you call out to God
For mercy and forgiveness
And commit yourself
To work, to change
To make this world
Become like your prayers
If you mean
These kinds of prayers
Then yes, please
Think and pray
Roll up your sleeves
And be part of the
Answer to your prayers.
© 2023 Julie Clark
Repair
Could we just move
Towards each other
Instead of listening
To the voices inside and out
Telling us how divided we are?
Could we remember
Laughter and friendship
Kindness and love
Sorrow and grief
We have tasted together?
Perhaps repair
Does not always need
Many words
But slow movement
Back to each other
A gift, a call
A jar of pickles
We know love is action
Not just pleasant thoughts
And feelings
These times need creativity
To create new ways
Of reconnection
Of loving one another
Our neighbors
Even our enemies
© Julie Clark 2022
(Found this poem on my computer from last year)
I’m trying to get some work done
Only to be interrupted by
Bunny rabbits in my yard
First a little brown wild one
Then a big fat white one
Looks like it was someone’s pet
Then as I try to set up my computer
Song sparrows in the front yard and
Spotted Towhees in the back
How am I to get any work done today?
My yard is in sore need of attention
I managed to convince my 9 year old grandson
Mowing the lawn would be fun.
With a push mower of course
It was fun until he got distracted with something else
So I took over and finished it up
His little brother helped me pull some
Grass out of the flower bed
I’ve all but given up on planting
Any vegetables anymore
My yard is too damp and shady
Not enough sunlight gets through
The slugs and perhaps rabbits
Managed to chew enough of everything
Last time I planted vegetables
There wasn’t anything much left over
And tomatoes never ripen – ever
Even in my windows.
The only things that survived
Were the herbs
I’ll stick with them
and the flowers for now
Especially the hardy types
Oh and the sweet, tiny
Strawberries as well.
The quietness
the stillness
the soft lapping of the water
a little flock of Bufflehead ducks
swimming to and fro
diving and resurfacing
the sunset changing the colors
of the world
These are like gold to me
Two years in
Not normal now
never will be
Never was
We can’t go back
Normal was never
Ever
Normal
For everyone
All we have is
Now
Today
What will we do
With it?
We can’t get our
Dead back
Whether
From disease or
Gun shots
So we must
Grieve and lament
Mental health?
Anyone not
Been depressed or anxious
Lately?
So we must
Seek peace and community
Two years in
And a million miles away
From what any of us would
Choose for ourselves,
Our children
And grandchildren
What choices do we have?
We can choose
Love, kindness, forgiveness
We can choose a path
Of generosity and peace
We can turn our weapons into
Tools for living, farming, building and
caring for
One another
It’s time for a new pledge
Not to a flag
But to our Creator
To our common humanity
To the planet we share
A pledge to share our resources
To help those less fortunate
To make amends
For our wrongs
No more excuses
No more denial
To Restore the earth
To take care of this
Precious planet
We call home
To be makers of peace
Not war
(Every now and then I have a dream that really sticks to me. I sense there is a message for me. In my dream I am cleaning my friend’s mountain house. We are leaving and she and her family are on their way. They arrive before we are finished. I keep cleaning. She says to me “I have something for you”. I have to stop cleaning to receive the gift she has for me. It is a beautiful bracelet.)
Sometimes we have to stop
To stop being useful
To receive the gift
The gift of being
Truly loved
Here is a reflection poem on Palm Sunday.
Palm Branches
They thought they knew
How it would all play out
When Messiah came.
When He did come
He did not do what
He was supposed to do.
They did not have room
In their hearts,
Hardened by certainty.
No room for adjusting
And aligning
Their thoughts
Their actions
To God’s.
What about me?
Do I have room?
Or am I so certain
I know the way –
That I miss it?
Mary had a choice.
She heard the invitation
And sat at his feet,
Became a disciple,
Learned
She had room
In her heart.
Her acceptance
Of the words and teaching
Upturned the Patriarchy,
And helped her brothers
To have room as well.
But the palm waving
Crowds shouting
Hosanna, quickly turned
To Crucify him
When he did not do
What they thought
He was supposed to do.
As winter begins
It’s slow retreat
As blossoms unfold
At an unhurried pace
I find myself
Wondering
How will it all end?
With a bang
And a flash
A nuclear waste
An eternal winter or
Never ending fire?
Or will goodness
Once again prevail?
With a slow push
Towards the light
Towards love
With captives
Being freed
With grief and loss
Giving way to hope
And tears of relief
With lessons learned
Will the cycle of life
Begin again?
The little bird chirps
From its perch
In the tree
“You choose
You choose”
Caught between
Hope and despair
I choose hope
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