Tag Archives: Temptation

POEM: The Run Down on Lifting Up

This poem is a call to avoid running down those who seek to lift up. The poem has a tip of the hat to Dorothy Day and her infamous quote, “Don’t call me a saint. I don’t want to be … Continue reading

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POEM: Catchy Zzzz’s

I see much of life as a struggle to maintain a vigorous consciousness and cultivate a vital, life-affirming conscience. I see the powers that be as offering a vain, numbing “contentment,” free of inconvenient or uncomfortable realities. Security becomes distancing … Continue reading

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POEM: The Child Got Their Shot

A poem that came from know wear… The Child Got Their Shot The child got their shot Not at earnest learning Or playful preoccupation Not at hard work rewarded Or hopes fully fed The child got their shot A bullet … Continue reading

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FREE POSTER: God is Love (with asterisk)

God is love. Period. In case you were wondering what the fine print says: it’s the Sermon on the Mount (below). I wanted the primary meaning of this poster to address and challenge the notion that God’s love has a … Continue reading

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POEM: Devil’s Advocate

He was invited too serve As devil’s advocate But he prudently recognized That the job was utterly filled Declining the precipitous prize And elevated gratuitousness At one point or another, we are each tempted to take up, the downside of an … Continue reading

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POEM: Making a Fuel of My Self

In the cold night That darkest time When dawns forgotten My heart burns With fear and pain My home aflame To an unaltarable offering And fiery furnish Of wanton change Of hammering out or deal For scanty respite From that … Continue reading

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POEM: Dead Precedents

The whirled is full of dollereds Strewing up our future With dead precedents And we no where Greed takes us This short poem addresses the persistence of greed, even though its poor outcomes are well documented and embedded in human … Continue reading

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POEM: A Scarecrow’s Doo

My life is very Scuffed up Round the edges Hither too Better than A scarecrow Keeping Snobs a way As they brood Over heir dues Wile They are off Making hay Their own Abrade Turning straw men Into goaled Only … Continue reading

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POEM: A Befitting Size, That Matters

Starring on the big screen Used to dominate young dreams Super-sizing them for mass consumption Today, celluloid immortality miniaturizes So five minutes ago Small screens test us As we flail miserably In a feudal limbo ‘Tween Puffed up images Flickering … Continue reading

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POEM: Unemployed Stat

Unemployment hit a 5-year low Still, Bob remains 100% unemployed This short poem highlights the difference between statistics and people.  Statistics can estimate probabilities with some accuracy of how a large group of people may act, or be affected by … Continue reading

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POEM: If I Were King

If I were king of the world My first official act Would be to resign as king It is a common fantasy to be a powerful ruler so that you could enact your will over others.  This short poem is … Continue reading

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POEM: Picket Fences

More people are imprisoned By picket fences Than steel bars Sometimes by splinters Sometimes by stakes Through the heart Lonely in the end To come home Dreams of white picket fences have waylayed many more lives than prisons or jails.  … Continue reading

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POEM: Civilization

Dogs pee to mark their territory Humans build walls This is called civilization There are up sides and down sides to civilization.  Western civilization shares at least one thing in common with canines: they both demarcate their territory by the … Continue reading

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POEM: Unemployable

I am unemployable Partly because no one can afford what I’m worth Partly because I prefer to give it away This short poem harkens to a more organic way of relating to one another than contractual relationships.  What if people … Continue reading

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SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: A Christian Perspective on Justice

Here is a portion of a document that I drafted a couple of years ago while I was a board member of Toledo Area Ministries (TAM).  It was never adopted in any form, but I put a lot of work … Continue reading

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POEM: Our Weekend Away

On our weekend away I heard many rumors Of magnificent scenery And stunning views And yet I found myself Effortlessly resisting Any temptation To take my eyes Off of you This love poem is dedicated to my sweetheart Maryjo.  The … Continue reading

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