Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Psalm 8: Two Views of Creation

v1.0

Our excellent God
has created an
Excellent World.
I have camped
many times
with Love
in the woods & lakes
of Central Wisconsin

and have gotten up
with a soft sullen
Sun
to see the ducks &
geese leaving a lake
called Mauthe
and have felt the
chill air
and wondered-
no exulted-
in my blessing
to be what seemed
the only human animal
seeing the
brilliantined light
in the moist leaves

and glistening raccoon
tracks and surprisingly
smoldering embers
of last night’s fire.
I have rolled a papered
tube of God-proven
death
and touched it with fire
(man’s favorite miracle)
and grinned (breathing smoke)
so broad my face
might break
to hear the splash
of a few fattened bass
and walleye down the hill
.
I’ve built fire.
What power is mine
to command base elements!
And have read powerful words of
Peace
made laughable
by the peace I
experienced there
.
Well.
Praise God, then,for this should be life.


v2.0

Our excellent God
has created an
excellent world.
I have lived,
lo these five years,
in this nation’s 3rd
largest city
, next
to a giant &
filthy lake.
I have awakened
in the near-constant
dark
& heard the sirens
and the cautionary tale
of reversing garbage trucks
(nearer still, my
Lake Shore Drive,
to thee)
& have layered my
clothing thrice to
defeat the wet knife
of wind from the Lake,
and wondered-
no, cursed-
the misery
I’ve chosen in
being another
anybody
in a sea of same

to see the shadows
downtown that make dusk
permanent and turn
away from the
besotted corpse begging change
and focusing on the spare
seconds of warmth from
my cigarette.
I’ve lit that cigarette
walking out of
Dunkin’ Donuts
(for reasons known
only to the Gods)
and grimaced
at the slamming
closed of loading dock
doors and truck hatches.
I’ve watched
crazed indigents
burn corrugated cardboard
desperately and have
read the vapid advertisements
on the side of various buses
and taxi-cabs
made inconsequential
by the vacuous life
I am living.
Well.
Praise God, then,
for life is as it is.

Friday, December 17, 2004

7th Psalm- Workers Working

God, if I have faith in you,
save me from pain
before the pain destroys me.

If I have done evil,
If my hands are dirty
If I hurt a person who loved me
(and I’ve tried to protect
even people who seem
to hate me),
Then let the ones who
hate me
Win.
(Let what’s left
of my soul
Rot
with that hatred)
Let them drive me
into the ground
and send my dignity
and my reputation
with me.

But, God, please
Rise Up
against the vast injustice
that is my enemy
and impassion me
to Act Publicly
against it.
And let Us
bring All of
the People
against it
to Surround Your Justice.

(say that out loud)

To Surround
Your Justice

And for the
People
I ask You to
take over.

If You will judge them,
If You will judge
The Faithful,
Judge Me
according to my
faithfulness
and my
integrity
(for I should be
making them better)

Change the people
making evil
to make no more
but build them up
who make justice.
You are Who
evaluates
our Faith
& our Practice.

I am alone.
Defeat me if I’m
not doing your work..

(justicia si, guerra no)

God has commanded
Justice.
God must be
sick of us by now.
We have
armed ourselves
quite wicked
and created
New & Exciting
ways to destroy each other
.

We have created
Hell all on our own
.

There is no way
We could keep this
from falling back
onto us.

Praise God
for making us
so fallible.

(?)

12/05/04

whose side are you on, boys,
whose side are you on