Now we know who won
what is left to do
but love God
love our neighbor
keep praying
and persevere
with more compassion than ever
through the trials and tribulations
of an evil, evil time.
Grace and peace to us…
dw
Categories
Tag: racism
Categories
If I have anything to say
If I have anything to say to the Christian community in America and around the world, it is rooted in the tragic and hopeful reality that sustains and empowers black people to resist the forces that seem designed to destroy every ounce of dignity in their souls and bodies.
Cone, James H.. The Cross and the Lynching Tree (pp. 14-15). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.
If I have anything to say I say to all my kind Let us listen to this man Let us hear what he has to say May it break our hearts Open our eyes Bring us Awareness Confession Repentance Forgiveness Healing dw
Categories
Here. No words.
I’m still breathing
(deep breaths, whenever possible)
Still thinking
(more thoughts than I can put into words)
Until I read a book
(The Cross and the Lynching Tree)
That arrests the flow of breath and thoughts
(my heart asserting it’s proper place)
Leaving only this thought in these words:
Lord, have mercy on me and my kind.
dw
Categories
Here and Now
When your habit
your normal course of action
doesn't hear me out
doesn't let me finish my sentence...
When I am shushed
if the question that matters to me
doesn't matter to you...
When I seek a better solution
for all of us
and my words
expressing ideas important to me
in language important to me
are shifted
to your words and language
or struck from the final deal
altogether...
When I strive to paint
together with you
a world with more variety
of color and line
and my colors and lines
are painted over
or are imperceptible
except to one who knows
just where to look for them...
When everything I offer is met with
Not here
Not now:
What do I do
with a lifetime
of the ends of sentences
jammed in my throat
and the wildly alive
Image of God
burning
here and now
in my chest?
dw
Copyright © 2020 becomingflame.com
I recently finished reading the complete short stories of Flannery O’Connor. Her stories have always been a mystery to me, but I love her writing. Today I’m sharing an extended quote from one of my favorites, Revelation.
I’m also sharing some music I posted some time ago on my other site, dwpianomusic.com. The piece is called The Strongest Prayer I Know. The third “movement” of that piece is, in my mind, firmly tied to and inspired by this passage from O’Connor. It is the victory recessional, a cortege for all whose shortcomings and sufferings in this life are finally burned away as they climb through the “field of living fire…upward into the starry field…shouting hallelujah.” In my imagination, included (maybe at the very front) are the “little ones” I refer to in that post.
becoming flame 