It has been said
Pix or it didn’t happen
All too true
In a literal sense
As the mind grows older
And my memory weaker
Tag: faith
Reflections on Faith and Icons
The common image of me and my faith
Is naught but a reflection in a rippled pond
An inverted, distorted misconception
Of institutional icons
Revealing nothing of me or my heart
Pierce the Fog
Beyond the headlands
And the sea
Sunrise pierces
Morning mist
While a fog
Engulfs me
Impenetrably
So, walk the shore
Where there, at least
The mist will rise
Along the path
Find nature’s beauty
Tenacious star
Breaks through what once
Was naught but darkness
Girds my faith
This sun’s path so too my own
Now navigate this darkened murk
To find again the light within
Spiritual Warp
Kindergarten
Five days a week
On Saturdays
His bicycle, or the pool
Hunting for frogs in the pond
Sunday mornings
He sits
Then stands
Then sits
Then kneels
Sits again
Rites and hymns
Echo in the vastness
And his mind
None of it makes sense
None of it ever will
Warped space
Surrounding one non-believer
In a continuum of faith
One of Many Paths to Goodness
Raised beneath
Steeples and spires
Kneeling Sitting Standing
In pews row on row
First Holy Communion
Confirmation
Confession
Ash Wednesday
Palm Sunday
Incense and palm leaves
Midnight Mass
Now another confession:
Never a believer
Earliest memories
Saying what was expected
Doing what was expected
Praying aloud the lie on my lips
Though there were Pastors
Two at least
Who made as much
A philosophy of sermon
As theology
Who bespoke love
And compassion
Forgiveness
And kindness
As if these were as important
As believing in Father, Son and Holy Ghost
I kept the compassionate love
Discarded the trinity
And for a long while
Wanted nothing to do
With religion
Or the religious
Until I finally saw
The strength faith gives my mother
Courage, resilience, tenacity
Powered by compassion, love and kindness
All in God’s name
Now I understand
Something about the nature of goodness
And the many paths we may travel
To bring ourselves to the love
Which is its foundation
Nearing the Edge
In the failing glow of sunset
She sidles up to precipice edge
Peers into deep shadows
Senses gravity
Emanating from the abyss
Steels herself
Resists anxiety
But resistance
Is anxiety
Breathe
Breathe
Breathe
Seeking peace
With the imminence
Of eternity
Rocky ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #292
I arrive at the end
Of a rocky path
Where a beacon indicates
A vast unknown
Beneath a misty guile
But a light of no small promise
Beckons from a distance
My faith tells me
Is surmountable
Perhaps it will be a smooth sail
On a quiet sea
Or a road no less arduous
Than the sharp-stoned path
Which bloodied my feet
Since many miles ago
No matter
The destination seems bright
And beautiful enough
While I have covered greater distances
With less hope
And no small despair
Winding ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #239
The road winds down
To valley floor
From there the way
Cannot be known
To valley floor
From there the way
Cannot be known
With scant resource
For alternates
My faith is firm
No other course
Now heart resolved
Courage mustered
With just one step
My fears dissolved
This is how it really is
There are moments I’ve witnessed
Of such angelic perfection
Of such angelic perfection
As if existence itself
Had tapped me on the shoulder
And whispered, look
This is how it really is
Had tapped me on the shoulder
And whispered, look
This is how it really is
My hope and faith in humanity
Cannot be broken
Beautiful World
The beauty of the natural world
Reassures me
Helps me keep the faith
That we can be too
That we are
That I am
Reassures me
Helps me keep the faith
That we can be too
That we are
That I am
Pix to Words 