All of This is For You

by Matt Beard
All of this is for you   Every star in the sky That you followed out of your own personal Egypt All of this is for you   Every stone you laid your head upon To watch the angels ascend and descend All of this is for you   This stable outside of Jerusalem This feeding trough This bed of hay The smell of the blemished beasts That sustain the lives of your people The...
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Thanksgiving Ritual

by Matt Beard
Breath that sounds like God’s name in my lungs The joy of connection Every rebellious moment of solidarity In a world determined to isolate Fellowship with those who think they follow Christ Fellowship with those who think they don’t Fellowship with every living thing Existence I like it here And I’m glad I was invited To this awkward party 50 years ago Many have left and gone home But other guests just keep arriving And...
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Monetary Policy

by Matt Beard
It’s always there It’s the air that we breathe in It’s the water that we swim in It’s the current that takes us Down to the altar and makes us Drown   This water, it used to be wine Until we tried to trade our shame For thirty silver coins salvaged from a shipwreck that We bought off the docks with a hand written check that… Bounced   And now Shame is the currency we...
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Love Never Fails

by Els W
Sometimes I feel as if have fallen through a tear in the fabric of life Sounds and colors are dimmed A sub existence in a shroud of gray Hemmed in on all sides Shrinking me. Silently I wait for the Light to penetrate And like a flower at dawn my heart opens. Love never fails.
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No Fear in Love

by Els W
There are fears lurking in the recesses of my soul darkening my light Fear of rejection, abandonment, failure. Time after time I pull them up to be incinerated by the fire of God’s love To make room for the Living Waters A river of peace There is no fear in love.
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Our First Communion

by Els W
I was six years old that Pentecost day My hair was curled My dress was new I saw pride in my mother’s eyes The aunts and uncles came with gifts and smiles It was the day of my first communion   The church was full with people seeking but I did not find God in there It was outside in a field of white that I met my Maker His gift to me; Identity on...
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Consider the Birds

by Els W
I know no sweeter sound than the song of birds in the morning As they sing of endless, carefree days a door in my heart is opened and I am again a child in my father’s house free to step into the day with abandon As my soul joins the music, I soar and I hear my Father whisper “Consider the birds”
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I Am Not a Poet

by Els W
I am not a poet I don't know how to string words together in a way that even death sounds beautiful.   I am full of disjointed phrases that when you put them together you want to look away.   We danced too early Sometimes my sadness leaks out for no apparent reason The broken pieces of my heart have been put together again but there are pieces missing And sometimes the missing pieces are...
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Green Duct Tape

by Jeff Woodke
We who’ve been broken, are not easily seen. We are hard to understand We make people uncomfortable. Unspoken questions Beneath standard issue smiles; “Aren’t you better yet? It’s been two years now, Get over your fears now. No more tears now.” Their get-well wishes are for themselves Not for me. Not for the one they cannot see. They give me advice on healing; “Just spray some spiritual weed killer On that root of bitterness And...
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Recipe

by RS
They had the perfect recipe Or maybe so they thought Come one, come all to see This concoction we have bought   A perfect recipe we hold We know just what we need Please just do what you're told And a multitude we'll feed   But when I was added to their mix It was too salty to the taste They worked hard to find a fix But to them, it was a waste  ...
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