The 60-Second Sabbath

1 Kings 18

Let's have a heart
for the prophets of Baal,
who, like us,
desperate for God,
flail and cry and injure themselves
appealing to what can not, will not respond.

Feel for them;
don't slaughter them in their failure,
welcome them in their desire,
welcome them into the One
    who will lift us together
    to our long-dreamed rapture.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Inspired by David Whyte.

Old Shoes

Every day
you put on your shoes.
You put them on yesterday,
and you put them on today,
and you will put them on tomorrow.

And then one morning,
you realize they need to be replaced;
they are old and worn and no longer serve you,
these old shoes,
these old beliefs,
this old faith...

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Digital Silence

And lo,
at noon,
digital silence
fell across the land--

    no phones,
    no pods,
    no pads,

    no tweets,
    no posts,
    no notifications,
    no e-mails,
    not a single text--

only silence.

And in the silence,
suspended there between heaven and earth,
as the veil between the eyes and the soul
    (between distraction and awareness)
tore asunder,
they knew themselves.

And they were sore afraid.

It was as if
graves opened
and the hastily interred returned.

For three hours it was thus...
the earth pressed into
the potential blessing of silence.

Three hours.

And then,
most welcomed the return of static,
    tossed the dead back into their graves,
    Photoshopped the rent curtain.

A few remained behind,
wondering at the world for the first time.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Closeness

We long for God's closeness
We dream of it,
    pray for it,
    weep for it.

Even those who deny it,
    desire it.

There is the comfort
    of God's presence,
but, oh,
    there is also the challenge.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

On Hope

Anchor hope in remembering.

If God's faithfulness held then,
why not today?
why not right now?

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Lent

It is Lent.
It is time
to make space
for the Holy.

It is Lent.
Let us fast
from our fears
and our worries.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

The Creative Process

So you'd like to write a poem?

    Use common words
    in uncommon ways.

    Only say
    what's authentic for you
    or it will land false.

    End with a punch,
    not below the belt
    (too cheap, too easy),
    but where it gets attention.

    Rewrite until it moves you
    and/or you smile in satisfaction.

    Let it go.

So you'd like to create your life?

    Use common words
    in uncommon ways.

    Only say
    what's authentic for you
    or it will land false.

    End with a punch,
    not below the belt
    (too cheap, too easy),
    but where it gets attention.

    Rewrite until it moves you
    and/or you smile in satisfaction.

    Let it go.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

So Like God

So like God
    to consume my pending harvest
        like locusts,
    to burn through my meticulous blueprints
        like wildfire,
    to cleanse me of soot
    and soothe my seared soul
        like rainfall,
    and to cradle my emptied, ready heart
        in an inverted rainbow.
So like God.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Thursday Prayer

Good morning, Creator:

Take pity on me, I pray,
that today the disorienting winds of rearrangement
    won't leave me again upside-down in the bushes,
but instead may speed me further toward
    tomorrows cupping contentment.

Amen.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Dreaming

At night they come to me--
my sister or my father,
my mother or her mother--
mutually recognizing
that they have died
and that we have,
for whatever reason,
been given a few more minutes together.

Sometimes,
I ask questions,
because I need to know,
to understand
myself.

Sometimes
it is enough to be silent together,
exchanging looks drained of everything
but acceptance.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.