Posted in Poems on Dec 23rd, 2009
The Duet
by
John W Frye
Heidi spends her day in a wheelchair.
She’s 25 years old, blonde and brilliant.
Ray spends his day usually alone.
He’s 85 years old, gray and grandfatherly.
Heidi and Ray sang a duet last Sunday in church.
Heidi’s strong voice and Ray’s soft voice
Zig-zagging through the melody,
Heaven hushed to hear them sing,
Hearts opened to the artistry of [...]
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Posted in Poems on Nov 5th, 2009
Listening Between the Words
by
John W Frye
We talk of “reading between the lines,”
Meaning that meaning dwells in the white spaces
As well as in the words obvious on the pages.
Meaning, too, hides in the silences between spoken words–
Silences saturated with eternity-shaded content.
Listening between the words is an art and risk–
An art for discerning silence as the mysterious [...]
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Jesus the Poster Boy
by
John W Frye
Jesus has become the poster boy for love.
He’s been reduced to a fine example to follow.
Jesus as a loving example does me no good, though.
Jesus as a poster boy does no one any good.
We can have all the good examples in the world,
including the Son of God,
And it doesn’t mean [...]
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Passion
by
John W Frye
Choose each moment
passion or perfection.
God is a jealous God.
We want a perfect God more.
Perfection means clean and tidy.
Passion is wild, ruthless, messy.
Passion reverberates with danger.
Perfection is safe. We like safe.
Perfection has sharp corners,
Right angles, clean lines.
Passion gets sweaty and dirty
Evoking decisions in the dust.
Perfection likes the clear air,
Clean white pages with the rules.
The [...]
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Their words seemed like nonsense.
The women were crazy and the Eleven knew it.
Not finding a body to bathe with spices.
Seeing two men in lightning clothes
Asking the women why they sought the living
among the dead.
Nonsense. Their words carried no meaning.
We need new categories for new creation.
Resurrection is new creation. The empty tomb
is a wardrobe [...]
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We needed a leader for our divided nation.
Pharisees were smothering us with Torah regulations.
Sadducees were scheming to keep their positions of prestigious power.
The hot-headed zealots were murdering Romans and Jewish compromisers.
The Essenes slipped away into the desert as the only righteous ones.
The Herodians gave our nation away to the “son of god” called Caesar.
Jesus of Nazareth, the radical prophet, will unite [...]
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