Running down the path
snow swirls and twirls in the wind.
As we laugh and smile
broken pieces shift in me:
heart beats in time with my feet
Running Poem
Tanka
Winter’s strength
Spring’s heart glows above
as a wintry heart withdraws
as cold bones draw strength:
glacial wings swaddle shoulders
lifting burdens birthed in ice
Haikus and Tankas for Passing the Peace
I have been working on finding creative ways to “Pass the Peace” in a hybrid situation. What do we do as a people while the people in the sanctuary say hello to the people around them without unmuting everyone and causing a general chaos on Zoom? I wrote a set of haikus and tankas to share over Zoom while people are passing the peace so that everyone can feel a bit of love directed their way!
Feel free to use and share. Attribution is appreciated.
Friend, we pass the peace:
Across the miles may God's heart
embrace your good soul
Shalom beloved. May the peace of God surpass all of your worries.
Oh, beloved friend, may the Blessed Spirit hold you and love all of you
Jesus cares for you.
You are called to renewed life.
May peace fill that life
May God's peace rain down
to water your soul's garden.
May your life blossom
Softly like the snow
may peace build up in your life
so that if you slip
you might land in the middle
of a soft cloud of God's grace
Like sunshine at dawn,
may God color clouds with hope
and drive out darkness
May the sprouts of love
bloom in the sky of your life
as peace grows in you
May the gift of peace that has been lovingly wrapped by the hands of Christ bring joy into the deep parts of who you are in Jesus
May skilful fingers
strum a song of peace and joy
in your song of life
May God's peace leaven
and bubble in you with hope
as the Baker smiles
We believe in God
and seek God's peace. even as
God believes in us
May you hear God's song
when the bells of life ring out
and offer us peace.
May God's peace shine down
like the stars that light the world
even through the clouds
Like a filled donut
May God's peace cram into you
until it spills out
May the breeze of peace
blow across your life's valleys
and dust you with joy
May your life's story
be filled with moments of peace
as God works in you
to write gracious new chapters
with the flair of the Spirit.
May God's peace bless you
even when you recognize
that life is hard work
May you never trip
as you walk the road of peace
paved by Christ's great love.
May the peace of God
bring light to your darkest day
and joy through all things
As the bee brings life as it flits through the blossoms, may your life be blessed as peace reaches into you and leaves behind marks of love
May a snapshot show
the Light of Peace defying
all your life's shadows
May peace refresh you
like a cold drink on God's porch
on a hot, dry day
May the peace of God
bless you like a when blanket
when life's cold storms swirl
Night Camp Poem
We forgot the tent.
A sunset drive as night falls...
Embers settle down
As the crickets serenade.
We finally sit and rest...
“This is Sacrilege…” Tanka
This is sacrilege:
“This is Sacrilege…” Tanka, Distracted Pastor, 2020
Chemical warfare before
Pictures are taken
With someone’s Bible proving
The book is held as a flag.
The narrative bothers me deeply: A peaceful protest is cleared with a form of chemical weapons so that a secular leader can take a photo with a Bible. I love the Bible, I read it, and after watching the news I think of the words of Deuteronomy 27:19 (NRSV): “ ‘Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan ,and the widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ”
“ ‘Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan ,and the widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ”
Deuteronomy 27:19, NRSV
An inheritor of privilege holding a Bible while an oppressed people asking for the very justice required by God require medical assistance. The situation makes me feel sick to my stomach. A person murdered in public after a long string of abuses on others of the same race, people calling for justice, and being met with chemical weapons in the streets… Elsewhere, widows and orphans met with the same force for the social crime of demanding justice. This cannot continue.
Justice demands action, righteousness demands action, holiness demands action, and our own children’s futures demand action. This must change.
For my eldest…
Watching her face glow.
Captain Marvel stands up as
She smiles with a tear.
Oh Thanos, you're in for it:
My daughter will have no less.
Kevin Feige, I’m not a DC guy. I grew up with the X-Men, Spiderman, and Iron Man, but I can learn if you disappoint my daughters!
Preparing to Help
Frost covers a world
“Ice and Love” by The Distracted Pastor. 2019
In need of kind and warm grace.
Are you called to act?
Ice over living water
Is often broken by love.
Today we awoke to a house surrounded by ice. Ice is a wonderful gift in the middle of a hot summer day in a cold drink. In the middle of winter, ice can often be a challenge more than a slight inconvenience.
For the past few hours I have been working at deicing the church parking lot in anticipation of upcoming events at the church. I have made little headway and our local radio station is predicting further ice tonight.
While broadcasting salt across the ice this morning I thought back to the times in my life when I worked with the homeless, especially during my college years. I thought about the challenges faced by folks who want to the right thing to help someone, but do not know what to do. If you give someone money, will it be used wisely? If you give them a flashlight, will they trade it for something else?
One of the first lessons I learned is that you cannot control what others do. If you bless someone with a flashlight, they might trade it for something else. If you offer them a blanket, they might exchange it for a drink of something untoward. You cannot control what other people do, but that does not mean that there are not concrete things you can do to help others.
Here are a few of things I would suggest:
- Blanket Blessing
- Hot meal
- Handwarmers
- Gift Certificate
Keep a blanket blessing in your trunk. I suggest a warm blanket that is not large or bulky. Roll that blanket up with two pairs of new thick, warm socks, a knit cap, and a pair of gloves. The time to make these blessing blankets is not now. If you wait until end of season sales, stock up on the gloves, hats, and winter socks when they’re on clearance. Set a limit to what you want to do next winter (e.g., one set, five sets, ten sets) and store them with your winter snow brush. Put them in your trunk when you put your snow brush back in your car next fall.
Offer to buy someone a meal instead of giving them money. If they are hungry, ask them if you can buy them something to eat and then follow through. If you do not have time to sit with them, offer to bring them drive-thru or takeout. Offer to get them a hot drink with the food. The heat goes a long way. Note: Some people will say no to your offer or try and convince you to just give them the money. Use your best judgment, but I would suggest you offer the food and hot drink.
Instead of offering people money, buy a box of those chemical hand warmers at the end of the season. Offer them to people who are out in the cold. It is a simple gift. As a caution, check the expiration date if you’re buying for the next season. Unlike the blanket blessing, they expire.
If you live in a semi-rural location or in a location with more local businesses than chain restaurants, talk with a local restauranteur. Ask if you can buy a certificate for a “meal” complete with warm drink, food, and the tip included. If you talk with a small business owner and explain what you are doing, they may help you out. This may be something that ends up being traded, but if you are concerned it is still better than giving money.
Treasure Somonka
This somonka is meant to be read as conversation between two lovers (alternating between bold and regular type) until the third voice enters in (in italics). What treasure awaits when these lovers are united?
I rest here alone
I wait where few find the way
I wait in the cold
Nobody finds the still path
no one turns my rusty key
I come my lovely!
I seek you across the miles.
You alone I seek.
No one will still my sore feet
Until you rest in my arms!
Come find me quickly!
I grow weary of this place
Where no one sees me.
I keep something just for you–
Deep inside with my desires.
No one can stop me!
Here I am after so long.
Did you wait for me?
Let me draw you close and sigh
As I smile and end my quest
Turn my key my love!
Open the way to my heart!
Twist and turn and pull!
Pull open that which binds me!
Come and find your heart's desire!
I will, my sweet one!
Here I come to seek inside
Places I long sought...
Oh bliss, can it be? My love...
My chest of old comic books!
Honey, are you there?
Your mom says dinner is soon.
What is that you have?
Seriously? More comics?
No, they're not graphic novels
Hold me close, my love.
Touch me with your gentle hands.
Carry me back home!
She will never understand!
She's just like your mom once was...
Treasure Somonka, The Distracted Pastor. 2019
Written in response to the Creativity Contest “We’re Going Treasure Hunting” by Peregrin Arc! This poem is dedicated to Art, Russ, Tim, Michael, Ben, and all of the other comic book lovers I have known over the years. Keep being yourselves and call your graphic novels whatever you’d like!
“Epiphany Tanka”
Before I even share my poem, a Merry Christmas Eve to all of the Orthodox folks out there who will celebrate Christmas tomorrow. May God bless you and your celebration!
Snow falls through dark sky
Shifting past still planter hooks.
Light will brim at dawn
On lands awaiting the thaw
After Jack Frost settles abed.
Distracted Pastor Ramblings 