Loss
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To Die of Tenderness
Is it possibleto die of tenderness? At times my heart so fillswith unexpected kindnessthat I fear it may burst. So many poets–with frightening beauty–bring to vivid lifethe inevitability of death. And then, in a second's time,I witness such delicate sweetness:one… Continue reading
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To Change the World
To acknowledge life's sadness is not to be conquered by it.One can nod one's head to the inevitability of loss,but turn and embrace grace, compassion, hope, joy… This is the course of those who change the world–and the world yet to come. Text… Continue reading
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Temporary Homeless Shelter
I live in a condo,with heat in the winter,and hot water (most of the time),and a comfortable bed (beginning to sag),but ultimatelyit's fate, luck, the grace of Godthat keeps me here. I don't deserve this,any more than the people in… Continue reading
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Shutting Down the Device
"Are you sure you want to shut down the device?" That's the question asked of meby my Sony e-Reader.And for a momentI'm not sure how to respond–it sounds so final:"…shut down the device?"It has the feeling of dissolution and death:"Are… Continue reading
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The Deeper, Truer Reality
At timesthe evil in the world overwhelms me. I stand in awe of thosewho continue to stand in hope. I know hope comes from deeper truth,but that deep truthcan be so obscured,so pressed down,so weightedby greed, fear, alienation and hate,so… Continue reading
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He Calls Our Names
He stands on the platform,barely visible nowthrough the smoke that wreaths and wraps his lean, scarred body. One by one,clean as a knife edge,he calls our names (mine, yours). Our destinies,like the smoke,like our lovingly articulated names,rise heavenward. Text and… Continue reading
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On the Eleventh Day of Christmas
You feel it, don't you,the slow, sad, slipping away of Christmas? –the ebbing of joy and hopefulness,like the fading buzz of an exceptionally good glass of wine,like the last wax dripping from the taper, congealing on the evergreens below,like… Continue reading
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Christmas Day
At the museum,a pensive Josephgazes down at his infant son,father's soft, brown beardagainst the baby's cheek,their skin impossibly smooth and porcelain fragile. Joseph's brocaded, burgundy robeembraces them both.Thin lines of gold radiate outwardfrom behind their heads,and they are framed by a rectangle… Continue reading
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My Soul
My soulis a temple in ruins.Where thousands once worshippedonly the common starlings–black against the cracked white marble–pace and peck for seeds. Only a soul in ruinsallows in, without constraint,the sun, rain and wind,the incense of pines,the glow of yellow daffodils,the… Continue reading
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Advent 16
Every Christmasthe angel Gabrielreturns to earthbringing a revelatory visionto another of earth's wanderers.As with Mary,he hopes for brave surrender,for another holy "Yes." What if this Christmashe chooses you?From what fearful depthwill you answer?And how? Text and image © 2011 by Dirk… Continue reading