Speak in now
Speak in now
immediate, common vowels, consonants.
Let slush piles smolder. Is cracks the surface
ripples out and out again, meets
edges of sweet tansy, yellow iris, squirming dens
of otter kits along the muddy banks. Choke
back prophecy, promise only tangible. Wrench
now from ragged throat barbs of bloody words
that mean something. Now is red and pulsing
delicious. Like the split second when snowflake
bites flesh, when what was and is becomes
ice lake in open palm. Tongues of fire to
tease cracked lips, fill parched mouths with
epiphanies of I Am, white and wet and pure.
Speak in now
immediate. Purify mind of conjecture, possibility
be still. Tame body of moving, striving
be still. Speak in now
and know.
BUDDY BREATHING 
Another great post. I enjoyed reading your blog today.
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While I don’t know what was going on your mind when you wrote this, the beautiful thing about poetry is that it is adaptable, transient, and somewhat hollow; that is, it can speak in ways that are diverse and unintended.
After submitting a series of survey results to a friend working on her Ph.D, I found myself disillusioned once again by the “Christian lifestyle” phenomenon; the response I encountered was not only disappointing, but potentially faith dissolving as well. Without divulging the overall details of the study, I can tell you that part of it is attempting to discover whether the evangelical Christian church community operates on the basis of their supposed foundational beliefs, or on the basis of social hierarchies. While deep down I knew the answer to this, I did have a slight hope that it would turn out better than it did….Let’s just say that if I had no foundation in Christ before the study, I would have no interest in the Christian life as a whole afterwards. The results have astounded us all–and not in a good way.
Thanks you for pointing out to me once again that Christ does live in those who believe, and his word/sword is capable of piercing the most difficult resistance. I confess it’s the only thing I have left to count on.
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Thank you for taking time to comment here. I don’t have many visitors these days :) And, I’m glad you got something from the poem. I seldom ‘explain’ my poetry as that’s the miracle of it… what happens in the interpretation.
I’m intrigued by what you elude to, and hope you can forward the published results of your/your colleagues study when it is available. I’m not entirely certain what you mean by social heirarchy being what forms a lifestyle… could you elaborate on that? Still, it wouldn’t be the first time that a religious institution disappointed, or did precisely not what it professed to do (Pharisees).
We are all complex creatures, with dark desires at odds with sacred convictions, and so I do not speak as one who has it all together. Not at all. Still, if I have learned anything, it is that God/Christ does not belong or limit himself to within the tight confines of any one faith community. Church (Evangelical or otherwise) can equal ‘club’, and I openly rebel against the language and attitudes of that. So, if you remove it all… Christ remains. He and I. He speaks in nature, music, art, his Word, his spirit in us, even in the other messed up people that we live with and call our friends. I cannot dispute that truth… so I am glad that aside from all the findings of your study, you still find him to be enough.
Write again… please :)
LAE
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Hey. I wish that the study was finished,too, and that I could see the final results, but she’s only about 7 months in, and has a long way to go ( my part was very small in the overall picture).
What I meant by “Christian lifestyle,” is the fact that most people involved in the church are just posing, and because of this, the structure of the organization itself is influenced more by social hierarchies than by biblical principles. In plain words: social status is the criteria for acceptance, and is the basis of both positive and negative prejudice. Unfortunately, to function successfully in the church, It doesn’t really matter whether one is a genuine follower of Christ or not, what matters most is the perception of social position. This knowledge reveals that the evangelical church today is a completely inverted model of the new testament church, which makes me wonder if God is represented in it at all.
While I am not completely free from my issues with bitterness and resentment, I can say that I laugh more, I worry less, I’m very open about my failures and weaknesses, and I LOVE school. I also love the way you write, the way you put words together in an almost musical format…(and I confess to a slight envy).
You speak to my heart.
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Hey Marilyn,
Feel free to message me on facebook for my email address. I’d love to connect more privately :) And I want to hear all about ‘school’.
xo LA
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Waaaaah!
Alright woman! Speak!
Glorious, fantastic, I’m shuddering with the sheer inevitable pull this poem has, it’s inexorable yank to it’s end, the integrity within, the play of rhythm and words and now.
Speak, and know.
Fantastic.
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I am speechless… with your praise. Thank you.
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