stations (good friday 2021)

i’m either in the garden of discontent 

                                                            or being threatened with death

 

i remember every betrayal and every kiss 

                                                                   and i’ve carried those burdens ever since

 

all this effort to cast judgement  

                                                   i lost my footing for a time

 

you pretended not to know me 

                                                  so i looked for faces i could recognize

 

pronouncements were made by strangers 

                                                                  and yet strangers came to my aid

 

sticks, stones, glass, thorns, words 

                                                        shape the way everything is seen

 

i take up the burden of you again 

                                                      and lose my footing for a time

 

strangers come to my aid 

                                         and i am surrounded by songs of lamentation

 

i sing songs of lamentation 

                                            and i lose my footing for a time

 

everything is broken now 

                                          everything is laid bare

 

you promise me a kingdom 

                                             but everything is so broken now

 

if only we could love one another 

                                                       i could leave you satisfied

 

i would leave you satisfied 

                                            my body transported to a new home

 

i hope it is all worth waiting for 

                                                    tell me it is all worth waiting for

they said no (good friday 2021)

they said no 

to dancing

they said no 

to racing horses

they said no 

bourbon and whisky

they said no 

to anything but water

they said no 

to sending letters

they said no 

to doing any work

they said no 

to any small justice

they said no 

and everything went dark 

 

they said no 

and the celebrations ended 

 

they said no 

and some were crucified

they said no 

and we sat bereft

they said no 

and we sat in silence

they said no 

and there were only tears

they said no
and we longed for mercy

it's getting late (maundy thursday 2021)

it’s late and it’s time  

to replace everything

i’ve asked you for money

but you never answer

i keep entering the sanctuary

and i keep finding emptiness

i’ll settle for any old blessing

tell me which words to use

maybe it’s just me

maybe that makes me a fool

maybe i’ll just keep waiting

here where it’s still

full of longing

where everything has faded

like ghosts, like friendships

new commandments

like the constant grind

of bone crushing bone

the spaces filled with dust

my feet need washing

the table needs to be set

your ring waits to be kissed

tomorrow is a new day
they also said that about today

home is so far away
i have so many calls to return

gather all my things

leave the door unlocked

National Poetry Month 2021

Once again, National Poetry Month is almost here!

In the United States, National Poetry Month is in its 25th year! You can find out more about how our friends south of the border will be celebrating the importance of poetry at the Academy of American Poets.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, here in Canada, the League of Canadian Poets is celebrating National Poetry Month's 23rd year, and this year's chosen theme is resilience.

What does it mean to be resilient? We meet resilience in every corner we’ve been backed into, every hardship that we endure. Resilience is geographical, spiritual, historical. It’s the fight against climate change, the inner battle with mental health, the outcry for human rights and an end to systemic racism. Resilience is the backbone of generations of trauma, the silence at the dinner table, the bow to culture’s violin. Resilience is the courage to start each day anew. This NPM 2021, we celebrate, reflect on and respect the resilience that has made us who we are.

I hope you'll join me again in this, my seventh year of attempting to write a poem each day for this month.

You can see what many others are doing this month at NaPoWriMo, and I hope you'll let me know what you think of my efforts.

Happy Poetry Month!

NaHaiWriMo - day twentyeight

28.
snow falls slowly
gently covering my path 
hiding all traces 

*

pale grey sky, light snow
hovers between freezing and melting 
choose your steps with care