What freak parents
did the soft baby skin
idea of peace come from:
A king and queen at opposite
ends of a long breakfast table?
A young dovetailer and his fiancée?
Lo, the low birth of this infant
with a bird spirit
pierces and coos
unity with a prince
who would bring his kingdom
but slowly.
Anna Fleming is a third year Masters of Divinity Student from Mississippi.
sitting next to a
cool pond
on a hot day
imagining the refreshment
yielding immersion
feels like hope;
though it is not.
Now, to get into the pond
another thing entirely
experiencing the Water;
though you must get out
eventually,
you remember it forever.
and in the realer sense, you,
can never leave it again
and while you may dwell in a
desert
the water has become your reality
The meaning of hope
swims in Sabbath
Warrior, come find your rest
at the foot of my cross
let my flowing blood
heal your wounds.
Princess, come find your place
at the foot of my cross
let me crown of thorns
bring glory to your head.
Child, come find your Father
at the foot of my cross
let my Abba
hold you close.
Wanderer, come find your home
at the foot of my cross
let my Spirit
make you welcome here.
Student, come find your teacher
as you gaze upon my cross
let my wisdom
bring understanding to your heart.
Preacher, come find your Pastor
hanging on my cross
let my grace
bring peace enough.
Sinner, come find forgiveness
at the foot of my cross
let my mercy
bring complete holiness.
To all,
he invites,
"Come find."
Set fire darkly to my mind. Let raginig seas drown infernos white hot and deep within. Without this soul quenching the tides will carry on, lifting me along them and out to sea.
It's desperate and the wind blows like a howling fire not yet caught aflame. The wind is but kindling in waiting. God's servants dance with wick-like heads and never burn. But they do burn out and meet the firelight low within them. And they do burn, rough and raw as the spirit sometimes moves them.
In wilderness I am surrounded by company I cannot lay eye upon;
I am a living stone often with the feeling of being alone,
yet I am set near the corner somewhere
in a foundation that stretches farther than I can see.
The mortar of men is shattering and crumbling,
dust blows in the winds of revolution
and reformation whispers from places where being alone
is a dark reality.
Winds will blow and waters cover like a flood,
destroying modern marvels, and bursting ballooning levies;
though now it creeps and crawls as it turns,
the paradigm will shift; realities will crash,
yet the foundation will remain;
loneliness will then be a non-entity;
then I will be your priest and you will be mine and she will be his,
and we will all be surrounded by a company we can finally see.
pull the trigger, my eyes are closed
and my brain is leaking out of my ears;
i've read more than I'd like
someone give me a spike
'cause I need to fall on it like a sword!
too much theory makes me dreary
but i've already put my hand to the plow;
it's just that I feel like the donkey
and the whip's on my back
oh my goodness, it's academic suicide attack!!
help me, I'm loco and can't seem to focus -
graduation is more than a year away;
I can't stop the procrastination
it's like the painkiller for my disease,
yet the gods of academia still want to be appeased!!
We need to have a KINGDOM MIND
And view our world through KINGDOM EYES
And hold fast to our KINGDOM TIES
Our international KINGDOM ALLIES
United together by a righteous KINGDOM DESIGN
But around the whole world this KINGDOM DIVINE
Is manifesting a KINGDOM DIVIDE
For we have made God’s KINGDOM BLIND
By engaging each other in a KINGDOM-WIDE FIGHT
By arguing over whose KINGDOM is RIGHT
We pity ourselves as a KINGDOM TRIED
Yet think of our brothers as KINGDOM SLIME
Really, we worship our differences; they’re our KINGDOM SHRINES
We like that we have a KINGDOM UNTIED
We spit in the face of the thought of a KINGDOM UNITED
In whom do our “KINGDOMS” ABIDE?
We’ve cast God’s KINGDOM ASIDE
We refuse to acknowledge “Thy KINGDOM” – THINE
We replace it instead with a KINGDOM of MINE
a KINGDOM of PRIDE
a KINGDOM of “I”
a KINGDOM of LIES
That is how God’s KINGDOM DIES
Now we’re a KINGDOM POLARIZED
SECULARIZED
COMPROMISED
and DESPISED
We need to have a KINGDOM MIND
We must view our world through KINGDOM EYES
In order to keep God’s KINGDOM ALIVE
For this whole world is the KINGDOM of CHRIST
And in unity we make His KINGDOM VISUALIZED
REALIZED
ACTUALIZED
and PRIZED
Only by love is God’s KINGDOM DEFINED
And through love we’ll again make His KINGDOM SHINE
Then, in our own days will His KINGDOM ARISE
And Jesus will claim us as His KINGDOM BRIDE
And His Kingdom will be established, a KINGDOM PARADISE!
I breathed in hope and exhaled your name,
I closed my eyes and imagined your face,
I reached out and touched his garment
and hoped that his power would explode in my screams
in those dark moments when I see your tears
and your body shakes with doubts and fears.
I breathe in hope and exhale your name
I reach out and stroke his cheek
and catch the tear that escapes his eye,
and when he leans over, to my ear, I understand;
he sees you;
he breathes in promise and whispers your name.
What is a poem, but a collection of words?
Black on white rushing forth in herds
Like black sheep steering towards
The unsuspecting
Creativity in motion, bringing
Fresh new perspectives –
Redefining the notions of
This world
The poets move to deep beats
Dropping lines and rhymes with
Dancing feet, jumping legs, and
Jittery necks
Watch out – their meaning hits
Like train wrecks, or falls like
Quiet rain, or stings like scorpions
Or impregnates
Mothers and Fathers birth words
Poets produce progenies
That, stunted or thriving, rich or poor,
Living or stillborn, still have meaning
