Posts Categorized: poetry

Suicide Strike

Suicide snapped my soul,
Stripped bare flesh with
its strike. Shook out the fruits
of my labor.

Amid the screaming storm
of unnatural consequence, I became a
stump of misaligned
purpose. Expectations of motherhood
decomposed as the sun flowered once more,
and my neighbors shuddred off
memory of the horrific night, reaching
their branches to nurturing light, stronger.

Still, you watered my shocked roots in the daily habit
of your nurture. And my broken soul drank
in your presence as you walked amid your
mighty oaks. I begin to feel the tickling pleasure,
of sap-feeding life into what I thought dead. And
around my trunk sprung hundreds of tiny seedlings.
My broken body cradled new life.

New Life Grows Out of Surviving Suicide

Podcast posts every Monday at 10 am.

Devotionals post every Tuesday at 7 pm.

Poetry posts every Thursday at 7 pm.

the cross is necessary

The Juxtapositions of Christ

This poem was originally posted July 10th, 2014 Just 10 days after my son’s death.

I dance where there is no music,
I sing when there is no song,
I cry out when there are no words, and
I am silent when the world is shouting out!
I heal when there is no medicine,
I carry your burdens when others put them down,
I love when others hate me, and 
I forgive when I should keep a record of wrongs.
I live when death surrounds me, and 
I die to self to preserve your life.

Surfing Suffering

I’m never going to tame suffering. It is an ocean of unpredictable waves.

In my youth, I surfed like a barney, thinking I knew the right moves. But I was a rag doll with a Christian vocabulary tossed from my flimsy board of faith. A Maverick of despair pinned me, revealing my desperation for a savior. Still the waves kept crashing, drowning me in sorrow, Until God rescued me and set my feet on the ground solid with his love. We trained for hours. I looked silly hopping up on my board of faith, awkwardly balancing between grace and works. Up daily for dawn patrol to study the Hall of Faith surfers, men, and women, though scarred by Great Waves, who rode life to the fullest impact. They testified to the reward of daily discipline and increased my quiver. The right board for the right wave. Self-control stretched and retrained my weak muscles. Jesus taught me to respect suffering; lean into the lessons rather than fight their power surge.  I now know what it is like to run my fingers down the barrel, and relax into the beautiful hollow of not being God. I use suffering from top to bottom, carving hope from impossible odds. I respect other surfing sufferers, rooting them on to ride well. I persevere when rung through the washing machine of trials. Experiencing epic peeks with God towards the glorious impact of gnarly suffering.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4 NIV).

Podcasts post every Monday at 10 am.

Devotionals post every Tuesday at 7 pm.

Poetry post every Thursday at 7 pm.

Inked HOpe

Resurrection Battle at the Tomb

Forgotten, I greeted you from the remembrances.
My home hollowed from wealth, ready to entertain kings and demons.
You crossed the unclean threshold of my grave, your royal robes billowing in the sea sworn breeze.

 

A crown, only seen by our eyes, testifies to us who you are.
Naked, we claw with rocks at vulnerable flesh, mutilating your earthly jewel.
We’ll make you unrecognizable too. Flesh out God.

Forsaken

Forsaken

 

I scream for
release from day and night horror. While they cried out to
remain fast.
I was a scarred lamb within, and
a roaring lion without.

 

Mighty Samson would not tame we beating beasts.

 

But You, the Son of God, entered my tomb and knocked
the breath out of me.
What man chained you commanded freed.
Clothed in righteousness, I now cling to you.

A demoniac commissioned to share the truth of your
love for mankind.

 

 

(Inspired by Mark 5)

 

Poetry is posted every Thursday at 7 pm

Podcast is posted every Monday at 10 am

Devotional is posted every Tuesday at 7 pm


For Images of the Demoniac Story Click Here


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New Light (Sidlak)

 Darkness drapes

 like a thick silence

smothering thought and action

until dawn’s cheeks pink and stretch new light.

Many of you know how much I adore Haiku, so I was excited to discover a new form called Sidlak, 3-5-7-9 syllable lines with a color in the last line. Check out Brad’s Sidlak Moody Blues.

Write a Sidlak and post your link in the comments.

The Eighth Wonder

Chubby toes, arms flailing

in awkward desperation as I cradle your

squirmy body close to nurse. I

trace your smooth face and earnestly search for

traits of your father.

 

Maybe it is your deep gaze that causes my soul to long

for things this world cannot offer.

Or the gentle coos of Word made flesh.

 

There is so much more

To you than I understood. 

I am shaped in your image. And yet you grew in mine.

Your presence is truly

too substantial for me to carry and

so close I can snuggle the cheek of God.

 

 

An Echo of You in Me

Your bones feel picked dry of hope,

yet still,

truth echoes in the souls you touch.

Poetry Posts every Thursday at 7 pm 

Heaven’s Christmas

I hang fragile memories

on a fragrant tree, while Silent Night

sings lullabies of human

understanding. And I

wonder–What is Christmas

like in heaven?

 

Does the soft glow of windowed candles

flicker for us in prayer, while carolers

harmonize glory hymns to the

Holy One? Do angelic hosts gaze down

upon star topped heavens and

praise God for creation?

 

God, do you laugh deeply as you watch a soul

unwrap heaven like an eager child? Their eyes wide with

wonder as they experience first sounds, vibrant colors.

and run their fingers over the texture of your love.

 

Are we your present, your delight?

 

 

A Letter to my Insecurities (Guest Poet Isabella Robbins)

Dear insecurities,
You’re the only one that’s always there
When I don’t want you to be.
Padding my soul of diffidence,
My mind of woe,
And constructing my mighty, drumming heart
Into
A fragile sketch of affection.
My direction is elusive as I
Bicker my way past your repulsive games.
You mislead me.
You blind me.
Your flames ignite as every dismal
Experience, rejection, fear, words
Assemble around your blaze
Admiring you, computing to your destruction
Tossing wood pellets into a fiery bonfire
As you would a coin in a fountain of wishes
But still, somewhere deep within me
Holds the power to extinguish your fire.

(This is © by Isabella Robbins and can only be used with her expressed permission.)

Isabella

 

I’m Isabella Robbins—a sophomore in high school. I’ve struggled with self-esteem issues along with anxiety & depression, but have recently discovered writing is the best way I can release my feelings. Instead of holding my thoughts and emotions within my already busy mind, poetry has enabled me to write them out in a form of art. By doing this, I realize I’m not alone, and can only hope I can let others know that too.

 

Poetry is posted every Thursday at 7pm.

Suicide & Prevention Hotline

National Suicide Hotline

If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call the National Suicide Lifeline at 988 or go to the website at https://988lifeline.org/