Tears conceived in loss
Born in pain
Hot they strike
Lukewarm they stagger
Then cold
Only to become
An emblem worn
On the chest
Heavy but valiant
Tears conceived in loss
Born in pain
Hot they strike
Lukewarm they stagger
Then cold
Only to become
An emblem worn
On the chest
Heavy but valiant
Courage to stand and speak truth
To power that has the power to speak lies
Lies within a heart of love for neighbor over self
All those who speak have God’s image
And God with the most power
Speaks truth to those he calls his neighbors
To those he died for
So we speak like a man with a dream
Not one that passes when we
Rub the sleep out of our eyes
But one eternal dream
A never-fading, always real dream
That all men are created equal
Not by man’s spoken word
But by God’s*
This day sings a freedom song
Muted by ears not hearing
Let us see and hear
The forgotten song
Broken are the chains
Though hearts still remain
Unbroken, unable to love,
Unwilling to sing
Closer now we stand to abolition
Of division and opression
If we sing with amplification
“God heal us!”
*This poem includes additional stanzas added for Juneteenth. It was originally published for MLK Day, 2020 at For The Church. You can read the original here.
In the moment before rain writes
its story on the pavement —
Tension, tight with yearning in the
air
Like a friend with a secret to
share.
A breeze, a breath,
Colder than before, yet somehow warm.
And then — release.
Tears of truth wet the ground
beneath.
Catch your breath
on the wind –
let heaven fill
your lungs with hope –
not fear.
And form your lips
to the shape of praise –
broken and bleeding,
torn by the air
but still singing.
All those who knew You
Didn’t know You
Would die and rise
You who knew
All their thoughts
They still forgot
And I with them
But You remember
And You died still
And You rose still
For us
Tap the reservoir for a drip
Only enough to fill my eyes
Rather,
Relentless rapids
I either suffocate or
Surrender
Behold your apathy
Your jealousy
Your anxiety
Stare deep and you will find
A twinkle of truth in their eyes
Look too long and you will become what you behold
But chase them into the rabbit hole
You will find them seated
At the Throne
Ready to tell the real story
Of what you fear most
The King created them
To magnify our longing
So we can turn
And magnify Him
His body, soon to be broken
My jar, broken for that day
When he pours out His blood for me
So I pour out this fragrance for Him
Preparing Him for Death
While He prepares me for Life
Based on Mark 14:3-9
Brighten my eyes
Give me a telephoto lens
to see You
Otherwise
My eyes will roll back
And I will see only in my head
(Psalm 13)
You sculpted my heart,
From its atriums to its affections.
My heart is from you, for you, in you
And I keep it from you,
Don’t use it for you,
Forget it is in you.
“Take my heart and let it be, consecrated,
Lord, to thee.”