We shop for resale wedding dresses to clothe the shivering winter trees
You have said
“I will marry him one day” with the latent expectation that
Prince Charming will be hard-working and handsome
Weather all your storms
He does, of course,
The Charming Invisible
Math tutor of our dreams and litanies
He punctuated this engagement from an Occupier’s Cross
Look up, my child
Our bridegroom cometh soon
In the watches
Close to midnight
The way I see it
You have to know that our roots and origin ran through a cold northern river, inky dark streets, a Tiffany lamp in the hallway of a swanky riverfront home just around the corner from the enigmatic Victorian brick two story with a strange penchant for letting
Music spill out onto the lawn, into the street, soaring music—Elvis and Mozart as your sister-mother ran in the light or climbed onto the roof
Sassing the neighbor when she asked where “mom” was
Sleeping Beauty.
We are a generational fairy tale
Goldilocks among the familial, adoptive bears
I take HIPAA shred and fold it into a fan, scissor it into the shapes of female figures—me, you, your sisters, your aunts, your bad and good precedents
We are women
We dance in a circle
Arms entwined or akimbo
You shed light, little firecracker
Always shed light
My love
On the day the rains come
the dreamy neonate
slips like a lost drachma into the belly of a fish/
Water improbably clear
How can she still
live, breath, sleep, hope, remain, endure when
Someone must
Make haste
Dive deep
save her
I always try to “get” something new from the Gospel genealogies. All those begettings.
Today I focused on the begetting of the word itself—“get, obtain by effort” feels like solid ground.
Jesus had no biological children but he has begotten us.
What do you and I beget? Who do we beget?
God treasures us and he treasures our time. We have the choice to beget things that last like grace and love, or people we are not biologically related to when we show them they are loved and valuable.
Proverbs 22:13 NIV
[13] The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”
I am not Solomon’s biggest fan, which means I don’t quote him that much, but this verse seems worth the gander.
I am still on the hunt for context clues, but for now, wha?!?
Seems like a real good story in here somewhere.
Here’s what AI says—
https://www.google.com/search?q=proverbs+22%3A13+commentary&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
His Cross (mine by rights)
The photo-relief of a door
Hammered into
The heart of God
He makes the way
By being the
Way
Matthew 7:14 KJV
[14] Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 11:16 KJV
[16] But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
Matthew 11:2-3 KJV
[2] Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, [3] And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
I was talking to friends about AI scrubbing the internet for content and I figured I would test what it could do.
What emerged took one word-grief, one click, medium, and two defaults
The poem was generated in less than 3 seconds
Spooky.
Grief is a heavy coat,
That you can’t take off.
It clings to you all day,
And whispers in your sleep.
It’s a hollow in your chest,
Where laughter used to live.
A silent, empty space,
That echoes with a name.
The world keeps spinning on,
But you are standing still.
Watching colours fade to grey,
On a distant, lonely hill.
But sometimes, through the clouds,
A single ray will shine.
A memory, a gentle breeze,
A reminder of the love that’s thine.
And slowly, bit by bit,
The coat begins to fray.
The colours start to bloom again,
A little brighter every day.
Carrying Light 