why? what? poetry

In today's exercise in Making Manifest Dave Harrity asks:

What do you think poetry is for?  What is its purpose, as far as you can discern?  What are some things you think a good poem should do?

I found myself answering the question in poetry...

poetry is to capture

without caging, moments

in time, to evoke

and invoke

to open doors

wipe the dirt off windows

that a new seeing

is born

poetry should

push you to

the edge, then catch you

as you fall, encourage

a journey in or out

leaving memorial stones

along the way

linking with Sandy today as together we are Making Manifest

 

wonder

wonder

clouds settle slow, filling

empty sky spaces

breathing in light, soft moisture

like an unexpected kiss, touching

skin not unwilling 

to receive, like lips parched

reaching up, in yearning unspoken

so much revealed, like eyelids 

fluttering wide for the first time 

seeing glory behind the veil

continuing to work through Dave Harrity's Making Manifest

walking with Emily in redeemed imperfection
 

He said so

Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! 

Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. 

God, your God, is with you every step you take

 Joshua 1:9 The Message

new land stretches

out long, wide

before me

clouds speak of storms

ahead, and I stop

gulping courage

like thin air, simply

because He

said so

if I stay, or

go, there He Is

helping me

put my brave on

linking up with Kelli in unforced rhythm

 

silent shouts

Away with the noise of your songs!

    I will not listen to the music of your harps.

But let justice roll on like a river,

    righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Amos 5:23-24 NIV

we are going silent, 

in a show of solidarity with the women 

and girls around the world

who know unspeakable things 

for those who have no voice

or whose voices are never heard

may our silence shout

speaking louder for them

than any words ever could

silent for the cause with Sandy and Deidra

 

seen and unseen

today's exercise  led me to the window

to note what I see and do not see

it may not be because things are secret

but more likely just that I am not paying attention

what pride resides

within, to think

the world exists for 

me, as if I am

by my nature

deserving of anything more

than these

dry twigs, fallen

leaves, strings

and straw, collected

by tiny builders

trying to create

home

how they labor

to gain

what I take

for granted

let my feet tread 

softer, then

that I might hear

their song

continuing to journey through Dave Harrity's Making Manifest

 

the way You used to speak

I remember the way You used to speak to me

bold, bright brush strokes, sharp

contrast against the dark

undeniable, loud, impossible

to mistake for another

what was small, hard

secret within, warmed

at Your touch, floods

of light spilled

into every corner

now You speak to me, quiet

 teaching me how to listen

completing week one of Dave Harrity's Making Manifest with Sandy



and sharing whitespace with Bonnie

 

to tell the tale

it seems my heart is trying to find abalance

(interesting that I write that as one word, without a space, a-balance)

between being grounded

and flying, even with

broken wings

a balance

between rooted

and free

so that I could claim

I am abalance now

but perhaps that is not

His aim

and He keeps me

off kilter to remember

my need of Him

He Is, then, my Balance

my Grounding, my Freedom

again and again I write

of brokenness, of longing

of surrender to

His hand, His design

I am His creation

unfinished, ever imperfect

He Is not done yet

and He made me

to create, but I don't

create my self, rather submit

to His creating

so that I might tell the tale

weaving through Dave Harrity's Making Manifest with Sandy and

walking in imperfection with Emily