Poem: Farther Away

I have been waitingAnd longingAnd yearningFor loveFor romance.I have triedTo keep an open heartTo love withoutThe need for return.I have let goTime and againOut of love.These choicesHave been right and good.Yet nowLove seems father awayThan e’er before.“Oh Lord,How much longerMust I wait?How much moreMust I sacrifice?Please GoddessHelp me find loveSo that I can beReminded ofLightContinue reading “Poem: Farther Away”

Poem: Year I Find Love

It’s a new yearAnd hope is in my heart.Work is goodProductive and fulfilling.Living in a new houseNot sure it will be a homeBut at peace with itFor now.Faith is stronger than ever.Health is getting better.Yet stillI ask myself:What is it all worthIf my life is without love?While my lifeSeems goodIn manifold waysI am more lonelyThanContinue reading “Poem: Year I Find Love”

Poem: Ode To Uncle Don

My father’s sister’s husbandPassed away of late.After years of long struggleRest has finally come.Genetic ticking time bombWaiting in his heart.Threatened to steal him from usThese past thirty years or so.Knowledge and scienceAdvances in meds and techBlessing of the SpiritDefied death’s clenching grasp.I will always rememberHis great wit.Open curiosity.Delight in learningAnd sharing.The summer days we spentOnceContinue reading “Poem: Ode To Uncle Don”

Just Enough: The Biblical Way

In church on Sunday, we were celebrating World Food Sunday. We talked about scarcity, and resource distribution, climate change, and a plethora of related topics. Throughout the service, I couldn’t help thinking on one of Kenneth C. Bailey’s quibbles with the Lord’s Prayer, which he covers in his wonderful book Jesus Through Middle-Eastern Eyes: CulturalContinue reading “Just Enough: The Biblical Way”

Poem: Eyes Deceived

They see my glassesMy Star Wars teesMy toysMy booksMy movies and TV shows.They hear my voiceMy fandom references.They write me offAs nerd and geekNothing special.They see I’m shortThey see me tripDrop thingsStumble around.They hear my ragged breathSee the sweat pour forthThey assume I’m weak.Unfit.They see with their eyesThey hear with their earsThey smell with theirContinue reading “Poem: Eyes Deceived”

Poem: Great Change

I watch the newsI read the booksI see the signs.Everything tells meOf disaster in the offing.I must grow.I must change.I must fightBefore all is lost.Yet I feelI am not good enough.The burden is too heavyI cannot beThe man I think I must beTo avert disaster.I cry out to the LordIn despair and frustration.The Lord answersContinue reading “Poem: Great Change”

Poem: Listen

QuietDo you hear that?Do you know what it is?The cries and the moanThe tears and the shouts>It is the voice of the oppressed .LookDo you see it?Not the appearancesCalm and stoicOr crazed with anger.Look past the genderThe clothing and incomeThe colour of their skin.See nowThe pain underneathThe heartbreakThe despairThe knowledgeThat they’re meant for something better.NowDoContinue reading “Poem: Listen”

Poem: Keep My Heart Open

The city is full againAfter a quiet summer.I look aroundSee couples walking everywhere.The pain wells in my heart.I am remindedOf all the loves I’ve had.All that I’ve let go.While I knowThat was whatI had to doI fear thatWith each sacrifice of selfWith each loss of hopeI have builtBrick by brickA wall around my heart.Plate byContinue reading “Poem: Keep My Heart Open”

Poem: Interdependency

I walk through the parkThe forest and the trees.I feel the energyThe force connecting all things.Sadness wells in meThat so many deny this truth.They preach independenceAutonomy and self-determination.They push for unlimited growthThey say pursue happiness.Happiness is goodSuffering is bad.Growth is goodRestraint is bad.How blind they are!A reckoning is coming.SoonWe will all be remindedWe areInterdependentVulnerable.That isContinue reading “Poem: Interdependency”

Poem: Escaping Loneliness

I lie in bedStaring at the ceiling.I feel the darkness risingThe lonely aching emptinessCarving out my soul.I curl into a ballHope to smother the pain.My heart is poundingSqueezed by a tight fist.Tear began to well in my eyes.Heat flushes across my skin.So I riseAnd I flee.I run and I swim.I walk.I practice Tai Chi.I tryContinue reading “Poem: Escaping Loneliness”