Showing posts with label Epexegesis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epexegesis. Show all posts

Monday, July 12, 2021

American Psychosis

 














You missed again. This time

It wasn’t just the sting

Of shrapnel or the chips of stone

Ricocheting off the ground

Of intentional, merciful 

Misfire. Or even the striking burst

That shocks others into fright

And flight. This time it was an organ

Pierced because he stands behind her 

Still while you apologize and gush

Of your beloved’s love for you

And your unconditional love 

For your beloved who loves another












Monday, July 5, 2021

Fill in the blanks

 



This generation

doomed to destruction

without resurrection

for all the blood

on their hands

worships blank


Each cannot fathom

what it means

to not let one eat

if one does not work

and so they uber

to blank


They chug all the blessings

cancel all the curses

Recline on factory sofas

in air conditioned spaces

while dogs eat the crumbs

of blank


Let's all dream 

of colonizing planets

injecting cures for cancers

surviving on impossible burgers

while dropping off kids at daycare

so we can celebrate blank


Our creed is simple

there is only adaption or escape

we evolved from something inhuman

pathogens are always trying to infect us

Science is real, from the big bang to your DNA

Worship blank or this generation is doomed







Saturday, May 15, 2021

Planet Earth

 



‘There is literally no evidence of that’

Says the random troll with an opinion

Weighing as much as a fish in the ocean 

And as oblivious as a newborn seal


All the crazies are in the wild

And they have no interest in subscribing

They only think they are healthy and safe

Because of all the freedoms and privilege they’ve had


The trolls only know all four seasons of planet earth

Framed through a lens; encapsulated by glass

Guarded with steel; shaped in concrete

Its keepers are there to make sure each season is a success


All the crystalloid, chlorinated pools 

And buckets of delectable fish

Are crafted to make endangered life safe and healthy

To the senses of visitors who never enter the wild


Each generation is being sold a new series

Scripted, strategized, and produced

To keep our eyes on the prize of life

The wild is really not our natural habitat 


How will we survive without buckets of care?

We need them to help rehabilitate planet earth

All we have, the world and everything therein, is theirs

And they know better than us in how to care for it


Also, do you see this button?

If it gets pushed, the guardians and keepers will come

And show you where you can squat and what food you can chew

And the glass you can see through because the planet is their zoo


But the choice is entirely yours

Learn to live by their rules and be a good pup

Playing freely and feeding from their hands

Or else die by their rules and their servants will clean up







That Phone Call


I know a man who plays with his children

The games they like to play

Just to enjoy them and be enjoyed by them

But he’s not you

He made that choice

While his kids were young, too

It’s too late for you now

Only the law is left to comfort you

Honor thy father has remained your excuse

The Most High commands and imposes this duty on us

Do this no matter what

Do this little children and you will be blessed

You, whose children are now parents themselves

Do this so that senile and cynical fathers are cared for

Do this because your father is honorable

Don’t bother if he’s a narcissist

Threaten him if he’s a cult leader

And maybe

Just maybe, at best

He’ll read what you wrote for him to enjoy with you years ago










Thursday, April 29, 2021

The new guy

 


Relentless messages

Constant uninvited updates

Random demands

Multiple personalities

Following the kindness of others

You were strange the first day

And even stranger still

Not quite an enigma

Just predicable

Unreliable

Untrustworthy

Annoying

No, I don’t want to leave

You leave

Go crash another car

You have been humored far too long

Everyone humors you far too long

Proving kindness to be overrated

And simplistic spirituality obnoxious 

Keep silence 

In a direction far away

Enjoy your unemployment and coffee

Palamas would be proud of your prayers

But you wouldn’t know

I don’t care even if I told you why

Your unending lists of God talk

They’re like refilling your bottle with piss

Offering it to quench my thirst

No, I don’t care for your gift

And I won’t bring penthos to your altar

I should have trusted my gut on day one

The obsessions

The insults

The demands

The shallow piety

Building nothing

Defending nothing

Sustaining nothing

But I get it

You’re right

You’re wronged

Let’s all live in your imaginary life

Where you provide spiritual direction

Inviting pagans into the divine

The light of mount Tabor

The love of Jesus Christ

The psalmody of your lunacy









Holywood

 


While crafting images of God

Into dysphoric xems and perselfs

Less archaic than thees and thous

We guzzle these natural flavors that plants crave

Meanwhile our priests fly cartoon robots

Telling us with confidence to imagine

We will be pumping our chests with oxygen

And our blood brain barrier with propylene glycol

So our grandchildren can visit 

Jetsonian vistas powered by Tesla panels

Once the hyperdrive is ready to project quantum particles

Amazon will be at the helm to deliver our goods

This new era has dawned with greater understanding

Black holes waiting to be colonized

So we can be like the stars of heaven











Wednesday, April 14, 2021

That Rare Icon


I remember the first time I met her

Glowing with life

Truly listening and passionate

About God’s glory

About God’s beauty

About God’s worth-ship


As months passed by, much more about her became evident

She is superlatively gifted and competent

Willing to sacrifice her time and money

Her energy and imagination

Her art and attention

Her love of Goodness for all


As years passed by, her servant heart was evident

Showering others with encouragement

Ennobling them with her ready ear

Her ready mind

Her ready heart

Her ready soul

Full of joy

Coupled with humbleness

Forthright in word and deed, yet with brutal honesty about her own mistakes and shortcomings


It’s rare to find someone like her:

Loving and caring beyond mere words, without hypocrisy, 

Yet also with healthy boundaries and a good sense for justice;

One who is tender-hearted and long suffering, with no strings attached, 

Yet still filled with tremendous Hope through tremendous losses


I have spoken about her with many others, and we all agree: 

She is a great friend, confidant, and counselor; 

the excellent and virtuous woman described in Proverbs; 

the joy of many who sorrow.

She is that rare icon one is graced to pray with, 

because knowing her is knowing Life Eternal








Sunday, April 11, 2021

And profitable writing

 

Here we go again

Another apologetic

Whipping out shiny blades of tribal tradition 

To chop up uncertainty 

If the other won’t surrender

To the good news that his steel glistens

And is sharper than any two-edged sword

Then comes the twirly dance like a ninja ballerina

To show how conversant he is in his own culture

The point is to bedazzle

So the weapons of his warfare don’t actually get soiled

So then, be afraid boys and girls 

As the professional armchair samurais protect the clan

Don’t try this at home, the disclaimer reads

Carved into the thick air

These bad boys can pierce through soul and spirit

So beware


I then slowly withdraw my first defense

Reading loudly 

πσα γραφ θεόπνευστος κα φέλιμος πρς διδασκαλίαν, 

πρς λεγμόν, πρς πανόρθωσιν, 

πρς παιδείαν τν ν δικαιοσύν

να ρτιος το θεο νθρωπος, 

πρς πν ργον γαθν ξηρτισμένος


Everyone stares in silence 

Because they can’t see the mountain

Full of chariots of fire all around

And they don't even know what that means










Friday, March 26, 2021

Authentic misery

 


It happened.

I asked. Then silence

For an awkward sixty

Three seconds. So I mentioned 

Resources available.

Then insecurity burst out,

Like a wizard who never cast

The right spell even though

He wrote the book.

So I clarified.

They’re online, I said.

The resources. They’re new.

That’s why they were produced.

Then, awkward whispers ensued,

And after another uncomfortable 

Minute, one excuse poured out

Beyond the softened, airy mumbles

Of buried shame painted as stability.

Our situation is complicated, he said.

Yes, you’re right, I said.

And I won’t be surprised 

If you recoil and shrink

Into isolation, where there is no

Vulnerability, which helps you remain

Unwilling to learn how we can help.








Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Inception


Planting a seed

Takes time

The right light and warmth

And moisture

At fingertips

With you

It's worth every minute

Of waiting and tasting

Every pulse

Every wave

Quietly announcing

We found divinity