Tag: Faith

Tithes & Offerings

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Finding Peace With My Father

woman
Courtesy of Pinterest

I am not searching
For my kin
Men give me hives
And women drive me crazy

You wanted me
Settled by now —
Baby hipped, bare feet
No cause for
Questions

But, I am full of
Questions
All needing answers.
I hold back.
Every year, I chicken out.
Clucked by the best, my
Demons fester and you
Pop up when I
Am trying to understand
Where to go from here.

The path I have taken
Only leads me to
The same circle I have
Met for 25 years,
Incomplete.
I step out of the circle,
Refusing its enclosure,
I draw a line.

You cannot cross it.

My heart blocks
The pain of a
Lost child begging to
Be understood, wanting
To be heard in the
Noisy body of
Cheerful congregations.
They pass
Our family secrets around
In the collection plate.

One drops a 20.
He needs change.
He knows our story
From front to back,
I do not sit next to him.
Each secret floats, heavy
Like coins, clinging
To musty bills,

Testimonies are next.

You say, “I have a confession
To make. I love my children.
I would die without them.
I could die without them.
Nothing has changed.”
You are happy.
Beaming, proud Daddy
Wishing to knee-us-up
And bounce us until
We lose ourselves.

I see your happiness.
I reach into my clutch
As the plate comes around,
Pull out a smile
And I tell my neighbor,
“Pass it along.”

Originally published on June 18, 2017, via Medium. Happy Father’s Day!

Pressure An Audio Poem

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I believe that if we listen closely, we can hear God speaking. I find him mostly in the clouds. He hears what I have to say.

Pressure An Audio Poem

It is the pressing pulse
of a whisper that
knows no birth

the guise, cloaked in
nightlife, tucked in lies,
a play on little more than less
of what you had yesterday and
more than less of what you need
for tomorrow

your new adventure,
categorized in “Lifestyles”
only to be forgotten
next year

pressure–the underdog
and overweight extension
of a life you wish you
had, but know you
will never get