Old photographs
Dust accumulated
through years of storage brings
coughing and sneezing,
itching and wheezing.
Faded images stir
vibrant memories of
people and places,
life and love shared.
Sorrow and joy,
joy and sorrow
mingle with the dust.
And the question lingers:
why are there tears?
17 September 2024
Germantown, Louisville, Kentucky
Filed under Family, Friends, Louisville, Poem, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Self-care started again.
Morning movement. Hand weights. Walking. Chair stretching. Floor stretching.
The Dawning of the Day – Mary Fahl
The Gift Of Years – Eric Bogle
Color-Blind Angel – Robin Rogers
Mary Of The Wild Moor – Johnny Cash
Opus – Black Violin
War of Man – Neil Young
Either Way – Wilco
Izithembiso Zenkosi – Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Didn’t It Rain – Amy Helm
Sugar Magnolia – Grateful Dead
Son Sventa N’ahual San Lorenzo – Lol Gomez, Xun Perez, and Mariano Santis Hernandez
You – Marvin Gaye
Fashion – David Bowie Legacy
A Case Of You – k.d. lang
Bad To Me – Billy J. Kramer
The City of Chicago – Christy Moore
Screech Out – Come From Away
Dhrinnin Dhu Dhrinnin -Jean Ritchie, Oscar Brand & David Sear
Victim of Love – Eagles
I Will Be There – Tina Turner
Clear the Track – Pete Seeger
Ruler of My Heart – Robert Mirabal
A.D. 2000 – Erykah Badu
I Say A Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
Fire and Rain – James Taylor
Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Just My Imagination – The Temptations
The Boxer – Simon & Garfunkel
I Shall Be Released – Nina Simone
Seven Spanish Angels – Willie Nelson with Ray Charles
A Song for You – Donny Hathaway
The Weight- Playing for Change
Caught Up In a Situation – Emma Donovan
Ghost Light – John McCutcheon
COFFEE BEAN – Travis Scott
Star Of The County Down – Van Morrison & The Chieftains
Jesus Is On the Wire – Thea Hopkins
The Hang-Down Curtain – Hong Ting
Free – H.E.R.
Stairway to Heaven – Jana
We Rise – Rhiannon Giddens
Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna) – George Harrison
Across the Blue Mountains – Aoife Clancy
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long – Otis Redding
Come Away With Me – Norah Jones
Moon Meets The Sun – Our Native Daughters
Filed under Exercise, Football, Louisville, Music, Poem
Caressed by the wind,
the flames dance
above the candles,
each flame to its own rhythm:
each flame representing
God’s beloved children,
gone too soon,
taken too suddenly
by hot metal speeding from a metal tube,
after a trigger was pulled.
Back pressed into the wall,
I sat vigil,
watching the dancing flames
in horror,
in pain,
in remembrance,
in silent witness.
No more could I do.
More is needed.
24 August 2024
Ghost Ranch
Abiquiu, New Mexico
Filed under Gun Violence, Human Rights, New Mexico, Poem
I wait and watch, write and wonder
as birds fly above the field
and clouds gather over Pedernal.
The wind increases,
freshening the air,
rustling the leaves of the trees,
whipping through what little hair I have.
I retreat to the
cover of the dining hall
as the wind increases,
the birds disappear
the temperature dips
and large drops of water
plummet from the sky
and plop on the ground
bringing and renewing life.
23-24 August 2024
Ghost Ranch
Abiquiu, New Mexico
Filed under New Mexico, Poem
I remember, God.
I remember sitting in church
on Neville Island—
hard wooden pews,
my parents, brother, sister all together.
I remember singing:
“Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons,
Blessed Trinity!”
And I did not understand.
I remember, God.
I remember sitting in many churches,
sometimes in pews,
sometimes in chairs behind the pulpit.
I remember singing.
“Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons,
Blessed Trinity!”
And understanding flickered dimly.
I remember, God.
I remember choosing hymns
for congregations of fewer than ten people
for congregations of hundreds.
I remember asking people to sing.
“Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons,
Blessed Trinity!”
And through the years,
with repeated singing,
I give thanks, Triune God,
that some understanding began to grow.
You are One.
You are Three.
You are Three.
You are One.
You exist in eternal relationship,
forever bound together in love.
And the human creature,
created in your image,
is created for relationships—
created to love …
to love you,
to love one another,
to love creation,
to love ourself.
Lead me, God,
to understand more fully this mystery.
And more importantly, God,
lead me to live this mystery:
living love each day
as you, Creator, Christ, and Holy Spiri
live love.
“Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons,
Blessed Trinity!”
Amen.
Written a couple years ago, this remains relevant and may even be more so than ever.
It comes this night.
Faintly,
ever so faintly,
it comes.
Above the roar
of anger and hatred,
Above the howl
of prejudice and bigotry,
Above the oppressive maelstrom
of systems and structures,
Above the crash
of violence and war,
Above the groan
of doubt and despair,
Above the dis-ease
of heartache and heartbreak
Above the tumult
of turmoil and trouble
Above the clamor
of struggle and strife.
Above it all,
despite it all
because of it all,
it comes this night.
Faintly,
ever so faintly,
it comes.
This night
and all nights,
It comes.
Thank God, it comes.
Memories …
bless,
affirm,
strengthen,
sustain,
bring joy,
bring tears.
Memories …
cut,
rip,
haunt,
hurt,
bring pain,
bring tears.
5 April 2018
Filed under Poem
I
Missiles fly.
Parents die.
Children cry.
II
Missiles fly.
Children die.
Parents cry.
22 March 2022
Filed under Current Events, Human Rights, Poem, Six Word Story
Walking Gym in the Apartment.
Ira Hayes birthday
The Ballad of Ira Hayes – Kris Kristofferson, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Heritage – Shelley Morningstar
You Will Have Peace – Joanne Shenandoah
My Country ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying – Buffy Sainte Marie
Honoring – Peter Katar & R. Carlos Nakai
The Ballad of Ira Hayes – Johnny Cash
Healing Song #3 – Primeaux, Mike & Attson
Golden Feather – Robbie Robertson & The Red Road Ensemble
Brother Warrior – Sharon Burch
Calling the Spirit Back – Joy Harjo, feat. Rahim Alhaj
The Marines’ Hymn – United States Marine Band
The Last Post – Band Of The Royal Regiment Of New Zealand Artillery
Ira Hayes – Peter LaFarge
Filed under Exercise, Louisville, Music, playlist, Poem
In that eternal tennis center
where immortals and unknowns,
injury and age wiped away,
white supremacy and patriarchy recalled and transcended,
gather to play forever, amid
churning legs and blurring rackets,
thundering serves and crackling backhands,
all matches scheduled for
what we know as September 11, 2021
4:00 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time
are cancelled
so everyone may gather
round the Jumbotrons to view
Leylah Fernandez
and Emma Raducanu
and marvel
and rejoice
and remember
it is never,
never,
just about the tennis.
10 September 2021
Louisville, Kentucky
Along the Graybeard Trail 