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Death and Dust
A poem for Ash Wednesday. I went to burn the palm frondsFor the Ash Wednesday service,But when I looked, there weren’t any.Remember?There were no palms last spring,Nor were there bodies in this building.Here I am left holding the bagOf one more thing taken awayBy this year’s passion play.“Shake it off,”…
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Surprised as Betjeman
Since the beginning of the pandemic. My wife and I have been watching Malcolm Guite’s YouTube Channel in which he offers what he calls “Spells in the Library.” These “spells” are the incantations of poetry and words found in the collections of books in his library. We find these weekly…
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O Lord
The second of the O Antiphons is O Lord, or Adonai. The Antiphon continues the unfolding hope for redemption. Followed by Wisdom, this Antiphon speaks of the Lord’s appearing to Moses and His presence and self-revelation through the glory cloud and the Law which we read about in the book…
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O Wisdom
Several artists at the church I pastor have been collaborating on an Advent art installation titled, “O Come, O Come.” This is the first installment and the project takes its inspiration from the Great O Antiphons, and thus the project’s title borrows its name from the advent carol, “O Come,…
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Consider
The Writer’s Digest is hosting its annual Poem a Day (PAD) Chapbook Challenge. Day Twenty-two’s prompt is “a bird poem.” When I think of birds, I think of Luke 12:24 which reads, “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how…
Backward Mutters 