oh God my darkness is a wall where I alone am beating and implore the blank between to yield to sounds and blows into vacuum fleeting since I have started all the other roads and have no answer seen but blindness stark I can’t retreat – God of darkness do you hear? remember I am always at your feet (1960s) from twilight threat deliver me darkness of night death of cold gray devils of an empty soul that coming season’s distant sun falls early – in my dread I can barely live till north-time break its power or see me dead (1960s) As from a statue in a fountain Time pours out, from You on us obediently dispensing moments perhaps counted yes, Time, so precious And we grasp drops in sunshine, split all these to sparkles refracting and reflecting, tossing a shower of diamonds back into God’s catch basin [i] [i] Isaiah 55:11 – “Isaiah”. United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. {https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/55} (accessed January 19, 2022): “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it” Dear God sometimes it seems you have overshadowed my flame smothered it stamped on it then ground your heel in me and walked away this new and foreign element came so sharp and forcefully lodged so firm as part of me the pain of entrance gives it some resemblance to the splinter which yesterday pierced into my finger if it is to be removed no probing will dislodge it the way must be kept open with a confidence in forces reaching toward health to gently lift and press away the portion undesirable when time is ready On those winter nights entitled Mornings we try to raise our minds in prayer. Our first thoughts – with or without creature comforts – do not reach far. Oh, bless us from presuming that our Reaching is enough. Light some spark to make us shine this day. If there is a path to be seen a love to be loved a suffering or forgiveness, help us to and through it One more prayer in darkness : Let us rejoice with childlike wonder in your Day. (1990s) Well, Lord, that’s three years gone, three years – gone. . . . Did I say three? No, four, four years And much, much more. But we won’t talk about it now, no, we won’t talk about it. Or think about it, now. It was – in a sense, is, and I still am, poor remnant me. I could bring you the pieces – I will bring you the pieces when I come visit you, Lord. Then I will ask, “Why?” It was. “Why?” – when I talk to you. I could ask you here, but would rather later very specially hold up the pieces. Let no one see the question or the pain, only pieces. Others can forget. And, as for me… let’s not talk about it now. (1970s ?) Dear God help me to live all my actions so there are none I wish unlived let me be single, not double – when I look behind, no backtracking beside a me that should have been. God who can bring good out of evil, I still do not wish evil. Let the future be all forward, much rather cut those wanderings, help me sort and turn away. Grant your guidance that I may not be deceived on that narrow path walled from the world’s eye, where the steps are only mine. Let them be all true Like a great eye in the heaven looking at a hermit hut my God sees inside my little wall and only He knows whether I do His will In the provided loneness of my hut-like self I listen or don’t listen clean or don’t clean build or don’t build grow or don’t grow pray or don’t pray serve or don’t serve love or don’t love and no other hermit knows He looks where no one else can see He hears where no one else can hear He speaks where no one else can speak He loves where no one else can love Before he sends me to my neighbor (1990s) .… settled down after chaos week terror days, statistic’s fear, but here a respite without rules, or jots and tittles, dotted “i” s, – just the peace of day descending beauty’s wonder, praise a change in set of light where Love could meet in fuller sense of blessing named – “Shalom” [i] (2020s) [i] “Shalom”. Etymology Online Dictionary. {https://www.etymonline.com/word/shalom } (accessed January 20, 2022): “Jewish word of greeting, Hebrew, literally ‘peace,’ properly ‘completeness, soundness, welfare,’ from stem of shalam ‘was intact, was complete, was in good health.’ Related to Arabic salima ‘was safe,’ aslama ‘surrendered, submitted.’ ” |
Poems by Janet
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von Gumppenberg |
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