School, Theology, Misc.
Matthew Henry
“Kenosis”
Misc.
Matthew Henry
“comfort”
Race
Matthew Henry
"Sarah Rose (“Rosie”) Williams remembers her ...
School, TWB
Matthew Henry
“lady Macbeth”
Race
Matthew Henry
“3 Conversations with white girls”

Theology

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“…and who is my neighbor?”

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Jesus replied,
“a man was going down from [insert place of work,
convenience store, home, or church] to [insert place of work,
convenience store, home, or church] unarmed,
and fell into the hands of officers, who stopped him for
[insert _____-ing while Black reason]. they shot him,
stood above his leaking body, and left him for dead.

now, by chance, a white man [Evangelical]
was going down his Twitter feed.
and when he saw him, he scrolled quickly past
saying, #BlueLivesMatter.

likewise, a white woman [Presbyterian]
came to the place on her Facebook feed.
she saw him and scrolled quickly past
saying, #AllLivesMatter.

but when [insert the least expected] saw him,
they came near. moved with pity and outrage,
they went to the dead man’s family
to bandage their wounds, pouring action
and appropriate silence as compassion.
they put the burdens on their backs,
addressed them as they were able.

the next day they had not forgotten,
but took two friends and encouraged them
to more than march or hashtag the moment,
saying, ‘we will continue the Work together.
be not afraid: the Lord will repay
whatever social capital we spend.’”

then Jesus asked,
“which of these three was a neighbor
to the man who fell into unholy hands?”
the [insert an asshole “playing devil’s advocate”] said,
“the one who acknowledged his dignity.”

and Jesus replied,
“now go, and do likewise.”

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First published in Poemeleon A Journal of Poetry’s The Truth/y Issue: Volume XI Spring 2020

“The Third Renunciation”

“The Third Renunciation”—one of my theological sonnets—was published in the latest issue of Spiritus (20.1).

It takes its title from Mary Margaret Funk's discussion of the 4th century monk John Cassian's three-fold denials in order to follow a path of spirituality:

First, we must renounce our former way of life and move closer to our heart’s desire, toward the interior life. Second, we must do the inner work (of asceticism) by renouncing our mindless thoughts.…Third, and finally, we must renounce our own images of God so that we can enter into contemplation of God as God" (Thoughts Matter, 9).

It is also the ‘title track’ of a book of poems I am shopping for publication (so if you like this one, and know anyone who wants to publish a bunch more like it, hit me up).

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“Kenosis”

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kenosis

. . . Because God
is not a flash of diamond light. God is
the kicked child, the child
who rocks alone in the basement
     ~ Ellen Bass “Bearing Witness”

 after reading Roethke’s Waltz
the tension in my class was tangible
: to cast papa as a drunk (dealing abuse
with timed fists), or just a regular joe
dancing his darling to bed,
lightened by an after work beer

but as these immortals debated design
and argued image to metaphor
Katrine’s stillness split my heart;

later she explained her stepfather’s demand
of a demon’s dowry: how she nightly endured
his endless gropes and gasps, in a silence
which left her sister untouched, and a knife
untucked from his thrusting back.

 

A Pushcart prize nominated poem first published in Relief (2007); republished in Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression - The Best Of Volume 1.

“Incarnation”

Jesus sits in the smokiest section of every bar,
elbowing up to beer nuts with a proprietary nod
to both sides: an acknowledgement among men.

between sips He smiles quarters, turning their silence
into singing: jukeboxes skipping between the forces
of family and failure, fortune and fidelity. together

they raise a memorial over the dead soldiers,
whose empty lips loosed theirs, as new wine
in ancient skins. another round finds only His drink

at arm’s length: the other scarred wrist rests
on a shoulder, knowing love, like a scalpel,
like a whisper, can never cut from a distance.

  • First published in The Anglican Theological Review. (Winter, 2010)

“maybe Jesus was having an off day”

maybe Jesus was having an off day

after His first attempt, the blind man saw
men like trees walking. “what the fuck is this
bullshit?” Morgan slams her bible against
six months of sterile friends, cards and flowers.

she follows the poison from pouch to vein,
and knows she’ll find no comfort in this book
of magical half healings, where ancient
prophets cure disease with muddy water

and bronze snakes raised like the caduceus
above the cancer ward. she can’t accept
men like trees walking. a third string angel
could do better than a patch of soft clay

and warm spit applied with two calloused hands.

  • First published in Rhino (2010)