The 60-Second Sabbath

Humility

  • Forgive Me

    Forgive me:I have belittled you.I have mocked and laughed at you.I have imagined your shortcomings were not my own,and freed of responsibility for our shared insanity,     made it yours alone.But it isn't yours alone–    it may not be yours at all.… Continue reading

  • Job 3

    Many years laterin an unexpected moment of divine candor(seated at the fire,sharing a glass of ruby port),God opened up to Job: "What I really wantedwas for you to yell,'Enough!Enough taking! Enough destroying!Enough pain! Enough loss!'I wanted you to be more… Continue reading

  • Truth

    There is the truth we need todayto stay the course, to find our way.Tomorrow's truth may vary some;we cannot know the truth to come. What's true today is meant to bebut truth enough, the truth to seeus through this current… Continue reading

  • The Normal Trajectory of Maturity

    The normal trajectory of maturitymoves us from ego and pride of intellectto gentle yielding to the opinions and judgments of others. I'm moving slowly along that trajectory,but embarrassed by how often my imperiousness blocks my forward journey. Arrogance.Moral superiority. I am so… Continue reading

  • I Am a Poet

    I finally said it yesterday:"I am a poet." I said it without discounting or qualifying,without minimizing, fencing or shrinking:I'm a poet.I write poetry. What are you that you can't yet say aloud?painter? author? woodworker?gardener? chef? photographer?scholar? theologian? meditator?yogi? mystic? athlete? child… Continue reading

  • Balaam’s Ass

    This morning,saddle up your heart's donkeyand let it take youwhere you fear to go. Expect a bumpy ride–you can't even imaginewhat you'll find–wasps, thorns, snakes and black flies,selfishness and murderous thoughts,parts you'd burned and buriedbut which still crawl,scarred and in… Continue reading

  • The Lord’s Prayer, Stanza 5

    Let forgiveness flow,sweet and sticky like honey,oozing over us,spilling onto otherssmeared and gooey,forever gunking upthe machinery of resentment. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Apology

    First, Happy Birthday to me! Today I turn 58. I'm celebrating with Tim in Las Vegas. If you want to send flowers, we're staying at the Luxor, but really, I'd rather you took me out for a nice lunch at… Continue reading

  • The Convention of Jesuses

    I elbow through the crowd–so many Jesuses gathered from time,each designed to meet the needof a particular people, place, prejudice, pain… Look over there–pawing over the desserts–Republican Jesus,Democrat Jesus,socialist Jesus,and liberation Jesus,all trying to decide–cheesecake or chocolate mousse? And vigorously… Continue reading

  • I Sell My Soul

    I sell my soulin the anxious search for security. What wondrous, secret knowledgemust the homeless hold,who live each dayat the fingertips of God? Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading