Peace

  • Going Numb

    I am pressed to the bedby a curled catdreaming, whisker-twitching on my lap. Who am I to disturbsuch safety, such warmth? Perhaps he is in cahoots with the Beloved:I'm to pen one last poem,excavate one final, pithy observation,extend my silence through… Continue reading

  • The Cathedral

    In this foreign, colonial square,amid fountains and pigeons,a sudden rainherds us to sanctuaryin the silent narthexof the town's old cathedral. Instantlywe transform from tourists to penitents–hushed, awed, immortal. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Belonging

    I want the one I loveto find his place,his happiness,his passion. I know he has found his home,as I have found mine,here where our hearts rest together. But like us all,he yearns to be neededby the world beyond. We are… Continue reading

  • Love

    As Christian young people,we sang "Kum Ba Yah" and "Pass It On." We also sang: "Love, love, love, love–the gospel in a word is love.Love you neighbor as your brother.Love, love, love, love." What we did not sing,but is implied:"Love… Continue reading

  • Safety

    Stop advising.Lend your chest;let me therein silence rest Wrap your arms;hold me tight;that's my simpleneed tonight. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • MLK, Denver, 2012

    "We are in this together,"read the placard.And we were:black, white, Korean, Hispanic,Baptist, Methodist, Christian, Muslim,students and the aged (with canes),dreadlocks and crewcuts,Up with People and down with the system,male, female, gay, straight–an unlikely mix of one,just as God dreamed us. And… Continue reading

  • The Family Nativity

    A few posts back (on December 27), I suggested kneeling before your home Nativity scene and imagining what each figure might have to say to you. This is a form of meditation, of opening yourself to the Divine to see… Continue reading

  • Peace Process

    Instead of firing bullets of lead,instead of removing my well-fixed head,instead of grinding my bones for bread,let's sit together and talk instead. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Descend, Night

    Descend, night,and still our troubled spirits.Dream us to your meadowwhere suffering ceasesand misaligned souls reconcile. Descend night,and heal us. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.  Continue reading

  • I Love Winter

    The avenue on which we live,which carries us to and from the worlds of work and commerce,has disappeared beneath a soft overcoat of white. Nothing moves, nor wants to.Frozen respite. I love Winter. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk… Continue reading