The 60-Second Sabbath

Compassion

  • Prayer 2

    God of infinity:in the curve of your embrace,within and without time,all-enfolding,expansive:make space for me. How small I must appear.  Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Living with Ghosts

    We all live with ghosts. They are the people we see through,pretending they don't exist. They may be in our house,on the bus,or in the next cubicle at the office. We sit beside them in church,at the ball game,or in… Continue reading

  • Steal This Bible

    Steal this Bible from Days Inn!reads the stickeron the King James Biblefrom the bedside standin the motel where he's stoppedin the middle of Nebraskaon the cold side of I-80. Neon glows through the rain-streaked window,falls on the words of the… Continue reading

  • The Supper

    "We have here,"he said,"all the elements of the perfect supper."He waved his hand grandly across the table."Bread, freshly-baked, steaming from the oven,soft and hot as your midnight touch;water, cold and clear as crystal,bracing as your honesty, cleansing as your tender… Continue reading

  • PB&J

    We make 100 PB&J sandwiches,gently spreading crunchy peanut butteron donated white bread(which tears easily given the fragility of the breadand the stiffness of the peanut butter). The other slice of breadwe coat with squeezable grape jelly(squeezability speeds up the process).… Continue reading

  • The Ticket to Heaven

    "What's this?" Jesus asked his disciples.He held up a rectangular slip of paper. "Looks like a light-rail pass,"said Peter. Jesus flipped it over:one the back, in large letters,he'd written the word HEAVEN."What's this?" he asked.  "Oh, oh, I know!" said… Continue reading

  • You Do the Math

    Denver:10,000 homeless people1,100 beds for thema new ordinance forbidding "camping" in city parks you do the math if we don't see them,they don't exist Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • The Lives of the Saints

    I shrink.I shrink.I am an acorn,    a match head,    the point of a pin. Such monstrous courage,    otherworldly focus,    passionate commitment. I am reading the lives of the saints,how to be both simultaneously and fullyhuman,andan angel of creation,    wisdom,    humility,    light,    reconciliation,    boldness unto death. Text and image ©… Continue reading

  • Love’s Captive

    I wantto be vanquishedby love. I want loveto win. Love,take me captive. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Senior Cats

    They are now eight.How can a creature of eight yearsbe "senior"?They eat "senior" food.They go for annual "senior" exams. My other cat(companion of my adult life)lived to be nineteen.If eight means "senior,"what was she? I am fifty-eight,a week from fifty-nine.What… Continue reading