Monday, September 12, 2011

Homeless in LA



The old man wore a white goatee
the length and width of the nation.
He was ill when they first identified him.
His body was found in Los Angeles.
It cost me five bucks and
I broke a rule that May
for a short time
to sit at his old place near the bus stop.
The incumbent gone,
I felt like a pioneer
at the corner of Sixth and Main.
 
 
-- Matthew Morgan

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Great Saying



You, Great Giver, gave me this treasure.
I’m blessed, but afraid that I will not be
The mother and wife I want to be,
Your servant.
Give me strength to be all
That You know I wish to be,
What You will help me to be.

Thank you for this promise,
This gift and sign of Your love.
In the years ahead I will praise You,
I will exalt the Lord and rejoice
For I suffered in labor, but you whispered
“You’re safe. The victory is mine.”

Generations of women have fought this fight and won.
Though we sit at the hearth, not the battlefield,
Though we spin instead of fight,
The greatest honor ever given to woman
Is when she holds her squalling child
And sighs, “I have fought a battle of life with death and won!”

As you hold him, the fruit of love and patience,
As your hopes and fears for him come together
Like a rushing wind
The roar is hushed by a great saying: “I love you!”

--Chandler Hamby