Tag: Poetry
Damaris of Athens
September 2023 Poetry Selection
Damaris peered into alleyways, stumbled along porticos,
her eyes enflamed by the hot light of stones...
Damaris peered into alleyways, stumbled along porticos,
her eyes enflamed by the hot light of stones...
Buoyancy and Splash
This special edition Untold Volumes poetry selection was written by the late Virginia Ramey Mollenkott and originally published in the Fall 1996 edition of "Update," the EEWC Newsletter.
Offering Apples at the Statue of Confucius
August 2023 Poetry Selection
What is the ritual when the statue is
in the open air and my offering is
an apple that slid out of my bag
and rolled along the subway floor?
What is the ritual when the statue is
in the open air and my offering is
an apple that slid out of my bag
and rolled along the subway floor?
Bare Bones
July 2023 Poetry Selection
I jumped into the river
bare
to cleanse myself
from you...
I jumped into the river
bare
to cleanse myself
from you...
Being Here Without You
June 2023 Poetry Selection
Your people ruined us once
because of something
they feared about me.
It took me years to start looking
for you again...
Your people ruined us once
because of something
they feared about me.
It took me years to start looking
for you again...
New Noah
May 2023 Poetry Selection
We travel the waters;
the waters travel us, trace us,
turn us dark and dank. The
trip from pupil to lip: traversed
We travel the waters;
the waters travel us, trace us,
turn us dark and dank. The
trip from pupil to lip: traversed
Stations of the Cross: the Weight of Dust
Kathryn Cramer Brown shares a series of clay tiles she created to represent the Stations of the Cross and, with each tile, a poem in her book Stations of the Cross: the Weight of Dust.
Chapels
April 2023 Poetry Selection
I saw the conifer—but did not
know it to be a tree—
from the bus window
I saw the conifer—but did not
know it to be a tree—
from the bus window
Delilah in Gaza
March 2023 Poetry Selection
You have heard of Samson and the wreckage of pillars.
Listen to me. Samson had the strength of a giant and the soul of a brute...
You have heard of Samson and the wreckage of pillars.
Listen to me. Samson had the strength of a giant and the soul of a brute...
BLOOD
February 2023 Poetry Selection
Mass after Mass, it’s the same.
The priest raises the chalice
declaring it the blood of Christ.
Parishioners bow, tap their chests...
Mass after Mass, it’s the same.
The priest raises the chalice
declaring it the blood of Christ.
Parishioners bow, tap their chests...
Opening a Pomegranate
January 2023 Poetry Selection
Surely this is the fruit
That Eve once plucked—
Not a bright, wholesome apple
With thin skin and pale flesh...
Surely this is the fruit
That Eve once plucked—
Not a bright, wholesome apple
With thin skin and pale flesh...
Do not tell me God is light
December 2022 Poetry Selection
Do not tell me God is light
My God is dark
She slithers through the crevices of night
and kisses pain with love...
Do not tell me God is light
My God is dark
She slithers through the crevices of night
and kisses pain with love...
Song Without Words
November 2022 Poetry Selection
What if
instead of developing language
we had chosen to remain content
with gestures and with music?
What if
instead of developing language
we had chosen to remain content
with gestures and with music?
The Angel Gabriel Balks
October 2022 Poetry Selection
Say what? She’s not going to buy it.
Another Leda and the Swan or Perseus?
Why another myth?
Say what? She’s not going to buy it.
Another Leda and the Swan or Perseus?
Why another myth?
Why I’d Look Back
September 2022 Poetry Selection
Perhaps it was the vase handed down from my mother
or maybe the albums of my children’s photos...
Perhaps it was the vase handed down from my mother
or maybe the albums of my children’s photos...
How to Do Nothing
August 2022 Poetry Selection
Give yourself permission to sit this one out—
not everything needs to be fixed today.
Your sofa is the destination of the route.
Give yourself permission to sit this one out—
not everything needs to be fixed today.
Your sofa is the destination of the route.
The Woman Who Refused
July 2022 Poetry Selection
Xerxes was drunk, no other way to say it.
For six months, he strutted, bragged,
showed off his riches. For a full week,
he feasted and drank with princes
Xerxes was drunk, no other way to say it.
For six months, he strutted, bragged,
showed off his riches. For a full week,
he feasted and drank with princes
Polaris Abandoned
June 2022 Poetry Selection
The north star has fallen
It's still there, in the sky
but we've tilted away
and it's no longer a reliable guide
The north star has fallen
It's still there, in the sky
but we've tilted away
and it's no longer a reliable guide
That is You
May 2022 Poetry Selection
I looked out upon the white-cloaked mountain
and All that is Holy, She said “That is you.”
I looked out upon the white-cloaked mountain
and All that is Holy, She said “That is you.”
Housecleaning
April 2022 Poetry Selection
Thanks to that plucky holy man,
I’m happy to report they are packing up.
I filched his trick: invite them to live in harmony.
Thanks to that plucky holy man,
I’m happy to report they are packing up.
I filched his trick: invite them to live in harmony.
Jesus Illuminates His Latest Work of Art
March 2022 Poetry Selection
With all due respect, I call it “The Boss’s Dinner.”
We’d hang out in this upper room frequently
to debrief and strategize...
With all due respect, I call it “The Boss’s Dinner.”
We’d hang out in this upper room frequently
to debrief and strategize...
Pastoral Counseling
February 2022 Poetry Selection
She told me
that she believed in the covenant of marriage,
that she had decided to leave her husband...
She told me
that she believed in the covenant of marriage,
that she had decided to leave her husband...
See in the Dark
January 2022 Poetry Selection
One day
the moon got bored
of being worshipped
all the time
One day
the moon got bored
of being worshipped
all the time
A blessing or a curse
December 2021 Poetry Selection
Called Mary of Magdala
I was possessed by seven demons.
They subdued me,
trampled my body, invaded my soul.
Called Mary of Magdala
I was possessed by seven demons.
They subdued me,
trampled my body, invaded my soul.
Adventus Elizabeth
November 2021 Poetry Selection
Behind closed doors
the men talked, unwelcoming
no one asked
me
Behind closed doors
the men talked, unwelcoming
no one asked
me
Pillar of Salt
October 2021 Poetry Selection
First Thought With the Kevlar glove of the angel on her wrist she spoke: I know
we have to go. I know the smell of fear...
First Thought With the Kevlar glove of the angel on her wrist she spoke: I know
we have to go. I know the smell of fear...
Salome Listens to Yeshua
September 2021 Poetry Selection
Yeshua saw at parties
that I was polite,
that I feigned interest
in most men’s revelations about God...
Yeshua saw at parties
that I was polite,
that I feigned interest
in most men’s revelations about God...
God’s Response to Being Asked: What’s Your Preferred Pronoun?
August 2021 Poetry Selection
Imagine that awkward moment when mortals arrive
at my pearly gates only to find I am neither XX nor XY.
Imagine that awkward moment when mortals arrive
at my pearly gates only to find I am neither XX nor XY.
When Mystery Knocks
July 2021 Poetry Selection
You feel like you’ve been waiting forever
but instead of a robed savior, it’s the Unknown
easing onto the porch and knocking.
You feel like you’ve been waiting forever
but instead of a robed savior, it’s the Unknown
easing onto the porch and knocking.
To Mend Them
June 2021 Poetry Selection
Some days I’m tired of the making
but that might be an indication
I’m trying to do it alone
and that’s how you end up with armor
Some days I’m tired of the making
but that might be an indication
I’m trying to do it alone
and that’s how you end up with armor
Divine Seamstress
May 2021 Poetry Selection
We, the childish, wear our clothes like skin,
Like a birthright.
But a divine cadre of women sew
In the deep of the maze, and far from the exit.
We, the childish, wear our clothes like skin,
Like a birthright.
But a divine cadre of women sew
In the deep of the maze, and far from the exit.
True Religion
April 2021 Poetry Selection
On Easter Sunday, we paraded white and pink
patent leather shoes past Mrs. Criple’s porch.
She offered applause, foil wrapped coins that
tasted more of wax than chocolate.
On Easter Sunday, we paraded white and pink
patent leather shoes past Mrs. Criple’s porch.
She offered applause, foil wrapped coins that
tasted more of wax than chocolate.
Pieta
March 2021 Poetry Selection
See how his lovely long body drapes
over her motherly thighs...the way
her so much younger still-virginal face
gazes down on her blameless man-child...
See how his lovely long body drapes
over her motherly thighs...the way
her so much younger still-virginal face
gazes down on her blameless man-child...
Namesake
February 2021 Poetry Selection
When we named you,
we imagined
the divine love
and gentleness...
When we named you,
we imagined
the divine love
and gentleness...
In the Beginning…According to Eve
January 2021 Poetry Selection
It was color,
calling from across the field
or through the woods.
Close up it had shape
and I got to name it.
It was color,
calling from across the field
or through the woods.
Close up it had shape
and I got to name it.
When something new is on the way
December 2020 Poetry Selection
I lost hold of all I thought I could keep
Lost all hope for what was to be
The knowing of what I had come to do
I lost hold of all I thought I could keep
Lost all hope for what was to be
The knowing of what I had come to do
Preparing Jesus for Sunday
November 2020 Poetry Selection
Anyway, try not to doze during the homily.
No one can best your show on the Mount.
The way you used anaphora was brilliant
and so was ... but I digress.
Anyway, try not to doze during the homily.
No one can best your show on the Mount.
The way you used anaphora was brilliant
and so was ... but I digress.
Groundless
October 2020 Poetry Selection
The Virus can kill,
but so can breathing
hate on my neighbor.
The Virus can kill,
but so can breathing
hate on my neighbor.
Mustard Seed
September 2020 Poetry Selection
she fixed her eyes on her own feet,
small compared to others’ prints fencing
her in for fear she’d stray
without patronizing trail markers...
she fixed her eyes on her own feet,
small compared to others’ prints fencing
her in for fear she’d stray
without patronizing trail markers...
Gender-Bending Rhetorical Strategies in the Odes of Solomon
"Unlike the Western Church, which developed a propositional theology using the language of philosophy, Eastern followers of Jesus expressed their theology in the language of poetry – a fundamentally different, holistic approach."
Shekinah
August 2020 Poetry Selection
Who is like the Lord?
A woman who helps a child walk
An eagle spreading her wings over young
A woman who searches for something lost...
Who is like the Lord?
A woman who helps a child walk
An eagle spreading her wings over young
A woman who searches for something lost...
From Under the Air
July 2020 Poetry Selection
When you weep
and grow weary
of the pain
in this world you made...
When you weep
and grow weary
of the pain
in this world you made...
I Bow to You
June 2020 Poetry Selection
I bow to every flower I see and
every flower I remember,
every scent that surprises or lingers
that I can still recall years later...
I bow to every flower I see and
every flower I remember,
every scent that surprises or lingers
that I can still recall years later...
Cosmic Pockets
"This is a collection to be pulled from the shelf that you may be struck by their wise thoroughness of Truth's vital beauty."
Redeeming Mother
May 2020 Poetry Selection
I cannot forget you, child.
“I ache to nurture you, to feed you;
my breasts fill and must give.”
I cannot forget you, child.
“I ache to nurture you, to feed you;
my breasts fill and must give.”
Passover 5780
Special Poetry Selection
in this plague spring
when the leaders fail us
we try to keep each other
alive we are midwives
of solitude and survival
in this plague spring
when the leaders fail us
we try to keep each other
alive we are midwives
of solitude and survival
Humanized
March 2020 Poetry Selection
I will give myself
to wind's mercy, listening
where voices are muzzled,
cries stifled
I will give myself
to wind's mercy, listening
where voices are muzzled,
cries stifled
Ash Wednesday Thirteen Ways
February 2020 Poetry Selection
I have never trusted
a priest with
my whole heart,
not one.
I have never trusted
a priest with
my whole heart,
not one.
Redeliverance
January 2020 Poetry Selection
God, did you have to walk gingerly
after giving birth to me
Had you grown heavy with the weight
of my becoming
God, did you have to walk gingerly
after giving birth to me
Had you grown heavy with the weight
of my becoming
Magnificat
December 2019 Poetry Selection
I sealed my fate with my yes—
soul sanctified, body broken
confluence overflowing
I am the Lord’s servant
I sealed my fate with my yes—
soul sanctified, body broken
confluence overflowing
I am the Lord’s servant
I’m ceded, I’ve stopped being theirs
November 2019 Poetry Selection
The name they dropped upon my face
With water, in the country church,
Is finished using now...
The name they dropped upon my face
With water, in the country church,
Is finished using now...
Golden Thread
October 2019 Poetry Selection
Maybe I am just a golden thread
on God’s spindle,
tethered from within.
Maybe I am just a golden thread
on God’s spindle,
tethered from within.
Herstory: A Proverbs 31 Woman
September 2019 Poetry Selection
Burning the candle on both ends
she does not dream anymore
except of dishes and stitches so
it seems her work never ends...
Burning the candle on both ends
she does not dream anymore
except of dishes and stitches so
it seems her work never ends...
Behind the Scenes Theodicy: Three Stories of Why It Happened
August 2019 Poetry Selection
I. The angels stood guard like the hollyhocks
In my garden: swaying in the wind, yet
Immobile. A portal had opened, how they knew not...
I. The angels stood guard like the hollyhocks
In my garden: swaying in the wind, yet
Immobile. A portal had opened, how they knew not...
Passed Over
July 2019 Poetry Selection
Why should anyone die a sacrifice
when living blood flows in me
poured out and refreshed each moontide?
Why should anyone die a sacrifice
when living blood flows in me
poured out and refreshed each moontide?
Birding at Lemon Bay
June 2019 Poetry Selection
For weeks, I tried to spy a nesting pair
through a mounted white pipe;
peered at moss-padded sticks lodged
in the crown of a longleaf pine.
For weeks, I tried to spy a nesting pair
through a mounted white pipe;
peered at moss-padded sticks lodged
in the crown of a longleaf pine.
Hemorrhage
May 2019 Poetry Selection
You are electric
waltzing aware of privilege
storing that excess
energy in masculine swagger
You are electric
waltzing aware of privilege
storing that excess
energy in masculine swagger
Petrichor
April, 2019 Poetry Selection
Worship is no more
No less
Than the gentle bow of the branch
Worship is no more
No less
Than the gentle bow of the branch
Reversal
March, 2019 Poetry Selection
Jonah would laugh,
no doubt,
at this miracle
of reversal:
Jonah would laugh,
no doubt,
at this miracle
of reversal:
A Visual Diary
February 2019 Poetry Selection
These grew and became works of art.
Reared and fostered by my own hands.
But these were not my literal children.
These grew and became works of art.
Reared and fostered by my own hands.
But these were not my literal children.
Glenmary Sister
January 2019 Poetry Selection
Fresh out of high school, a novice in a shortened habit
scoured remote hollers, visited coal camps, argued scrip...
Fresh out of high school, a novice in a shortened habit
scoured remote hollers, visited coal camps, argued scrip...
The Pastor Delivers a Box of Groceries on Christmas Eve
Christmas, 2018 Poetry Selection
Hail, darling, full of grace
Half grown, half girl, all of eighteen
That night I made pilgrimage to your trailer
Pale, sweaty, stringy blonde hair
Framing your sapphire eyes.
Hail, darling, full of grace
Half grown, half girl, all of eighteen
That night I made pilgrimage to your trailer
Pale, sweaty, stringy blonde hair
Framing your sapphire eyes.
Mother
Christmas, 2018 Poetry Selection
Young woman, boo-boo healer,
songwriter, wonderful comforter,
mighty good, everlasting Mama,
peasant of peace,
filled with grace and grit
Young woman, boo-boo healer,
songwriter, wonderful comforter,
mighty good, everlasting Mama,
peasant of peace,
filled with grace and grit
The Last Stone
December 2018 Poetry Selection
I will not cobble together
a defense of myself
with lines from your holy book.
I will not cobble together
a defense of myself
with lines from your holy book.
Nameless
November 2018 Poetry Selection
Manoah’s wife was one of those women / with closed wombs who inhabit pages / of the Bible, women like Sarah and Elizabeth, / too old to conceive, Rachel and Hannah, / who also yearned for children...
Manoah’s wife was one of those women / with closed wombs who inhabit pages / of the Bible, women like Sarah and Elizabeth, / too old to conceive, Rachel and Hannah, / who also yearned for children...
Minimized Memoir
October 2018 Poetry Selection
Luke secondhand remembers harshly / Overlooked Martha: upset, anxious, aggressive, / distracted, troubled, bothered, encumbered, / fretting, fussing, busy, missing...
Luke secondhand remembers harshly / Overlooked Martha: upset, anxious, aggressive, / distracted, troubled, bothered, encumbered, / fretting, fussing, busy, missing...
Ancestor Alphabet
September 2018 Poetry Selection
I see the shape of the Alef and the shape of the Lamed / I see the shape of the final Tzadi and the shape of the Hay / I see the shape of your Nose and the shape of your Hands
I see the shape of the Alef and the shape of the Lamed / I see the shape of the final Tzadi and the shape of the Hay / I see the shape of your Nose and the shape of your Hands
Conjuration, Of Poet-Prophets and their Translators
August 2018 Poetry Selection
We are conjure women,
we who traverse portals opened by ancestral song,
we who dream the dreams and speak the tongues
of lands we have never seen.
We are conjure women,
we who traverse portals opened by ancestral song,
we who dream the dreams and speak the tongues
of lands we have never seen.
“Eve’s Summons” and “Maryam’s Labor”
July 2018 Poetry Selection
Maryam is giving birth
Her face is sweaty like a laborer,
like a marathon runner
God is her Doula massaging
the small of her back with a tennis ball
Maryam is giving birth
Her face is sweaty like a laborer,
like a marathon runner
God is her Doula massaging
the small of her back with a tennis ball
If Jesus Were Married
June 2018 Poetry Selection
If Jesus were married
it would help explain why
he valued women higher than his contemporaries
and risked his life to go against church teachings
If Jesus were married
it would help explain why
he valued women higher than his contemporaries
and risked his life to go against church teachings
A Christmas Prayer
God of sun and God of snow,
we thank you for the grandeur of creation,
for the variety that surrounds us,
for your limitless creativity.
The Beautiful Not Yet: Poems, Essays and Lyrics
Her essays in this volume are thought provoking, the golden prize being her commencement address this past June at her alma mater. She offered three lessons for life: “be kind, be true, and pay attention.” In her essay “Miracle, Light and Considerable Magic” (p. 70), she refers to “the mysterious nature of the Sacred,” the Light that appears in daily moments.
Hagar Poems
Centering Hagar Poems on Hajar’s tale, a problematic moment in sacred narrative, the profusion of viewpoints contributes to Kahf’s nuanced approach. Looking at Hajar from her own point of view, as Sarah and Abraham see her, in anger, in forgiveness, as heroine, foremother, and exile, Kahf shows how the different sides of the story have much to say to one another.
Lady Midrash: Poems Reclaiming the Voices of Biblical Women
I am so thankful for the honor given to these biblical women by these poems. This collection, spoken through the voices of women in both testaments, puts flesh and energy into what have too often become stale stories from our early Sunday School days—if we heard them there at all.
A Charleston Lament – #BlackLivesMatter
I am convinced that this is the lesson of Gethsemane / Not Jesus crying humanly about his own impending suffering and death / But rather Jesus's awareness of the depth of the intractable ruin of us / The universal suffering of the other who threatens the status of the entitled just by being
Feminism Is: Audre Lorde— Fighting Oppression with Poetry
Daughter of immigrants from Grenada, Lorde was born in Harlem in 1934, was married and bore two children before she became openly lesbian and radically womanist.
And Be Thankful
November 27, 2014
Click image to view larger version.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in...
All You Were Before— #ThinkOfAPoem
October 2, 2014 was National Poetry Day. I thought I'd join in the fun and post a short poem and an image. This year's theme is "Remember."
Oriented to Love – Of the Mystery and Miracles
When we stop paying attention to the mystery and the miracles of God, when we ignore that which we cannot describe, cannot understand, cannot categorize, cannot explain-- when we ignore that, we ignore God. Because God is not our logical, ordered existence. God is not the sure thing, the safe bet. God doesn't make sense. God doesn't dream safe and steady dreams for our lives. God doesn't move us in comfortable directions.
An Epiphany
The Ruler’s life has been irrevocably changed as a result of absorbing Christ’s world view, and his epiphany results as he sees for the first time his position in his own world. The pathology of that position is now clear to him: he sees the poor and their condition, and he sees in their watchfulness that they are Christ’s emissaries to him.
In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public
I have just retired from college teaching, but I wish I had had this book earlier to read prayers to my Bible classes. Each professor, teacher, worship leader, and preacher who cares about justice and contemporizing our scriptures could enrich their own tasks by using this book of prayers.
My Pastor
Last Sunday when she served me communion / I said “Blessed be.” / I don’t know where I’m going. / I do know that I’ve again said “Yes” to God.
Calling Her by Name
When I call Her by name, / especially in community, / I find comfort, support, solace, strength, / I am held in Her loving arms. / In relationship, I pray / and worship.
God the Mother
You cannot be God / Without being mother / To those you have birthed, / Whom you have held in your arms / And fed at your breasts.
Poets on the Psalms
Poets on the Psalms engages heart and mind and opens many windows into the ancient treasure house that is the Psalms. May these essays be given the attention that they so richly deserve.
Semisweetness and Light
I think Semisweetness and Light will delight and move every reader. Its small size makes it easy to carry around, and you will find yourself having a conversation with Cartledgehayes sooner or later.
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