tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64766924896872463922024-03-05T06:49:41.295-05:00WriteapalistII Corinthians 10:5. May the fame of God be spreadJef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-54272137154958646022014-12-09T14:58:00.000-05:002014-12-09T14:58:09.171-05:00ByeHey, all<br />
<br />
My new poetry blog is at writeapalist.com. Come visit me as I add new things to my Wordpress site.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-84489003792493346542014-05-14T17:46:00.004-05:002014-05-14T17:46:35.415-05:00Senior Poem 2014: Present Tense<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When they
are old,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
you hold
their hands—the shaking leather glove hands<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
of wisdom—<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
and you hear
the things you spent a childhood knowing,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
the things
too obvious to say.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The things
you want your children to hold,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
but can’t
tell them now<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
because kids
can’t reach them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When they
are old,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
the common
place is precious,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the
thunder <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
fades to a
pale tinkling of glass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The eyes are
small Bethesda pools<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
of hope.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When they
are old,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
they home
school you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
on lessons
like <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“the
shortest distance between two points”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
is the
heart,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
and “love is
an action verb”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
that also
links. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
That “time
is relative,”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
but we give
it least to relatives.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When they
are old,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
you
understand yesterday<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
more than
today. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
But there are
no words that fit<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
but “show
grace to me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Because when
they are old,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
you realize
that we never<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
learn. None of us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
But now you
are young</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
with embers
of dreams<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
that can be
fanned<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
or
extinguished.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now you look
both<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
ways before
crossing from one stage<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
of life to
another.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now you
wonder who you are behind the <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
awkward
smile of the selfie. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
But when
they are old,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
you find
yourself poised between parent earth and child sky,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
and you hear
them say,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Take what
you can from <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Me as
fertile soil.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Toughen to
be hard,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
but not so
much to not be tender.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-41325687329177848472014-03-26T19:02:00.002-05:002014-03-26T19:02:18.729-05:00I Kneel to Pray on a Tuesday Night<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Forgiveness is beaten away across<br />
the hand with a wooden rod.<br />
The lungs are sponges for baptismal water<br />
pressing across the chest.<br />
The rumblings of understanding are slight taps<br />
on the shoulder of a stranger.<br />
The voice of thunder barely rustles<br />
the re-sewn veil.<br />
The fragrances of meaning<br />
are absorbed in the fabric of speech.<br />
<br />
Grace is a gift lying broken,<br />
rocking back and forth,<br />
on the floor<br />
after the party.<br />
<br />
How can I be real to you<br />
when every word is digitized?<br />
How can I climb into your heart<br />
when my legs are scabbed and atrophied?<br />
How can I be what you need<br />
when all I worship are words?<br />
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-37103395432386313722013-10-24T09:14:00.000-05:002013-11-01T19:24:49.984-05:00The Baptism: a short storyAvailable on Twitter @1fjefp or on the Jef Peeples Facebook page.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-57861319391457545782013-05-13T20:28:00.004-05:002013-06-13T13:44:07.872-05:00Senior Poem 2013: 17<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standing on a hill, an arm’s length from the moon,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a small teary boy with a one-eyed bear in hand,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">holds a balloon tethered to him by the thinnest string</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">while his face is pressed against the glass of stars.</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A train coos a lullaby in the distance while</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">questions of truth and diligence babysit him.</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why is there hate? When is there pain?</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is a love? Where is hope?</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How is alone?</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In an empty room where teaching grew,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the desks face forward,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lead desk abandoned. </span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes on conspiracies folded in corners of books of</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Van Gogh. Starry Nights became dark when the stars fell from</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">canvas leaving melancholy swirls.</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And I at 17</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wander to places</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">too empty to share with company,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">too lonely for invitation,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wondering if he or she this young</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">has such desolate places,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">impoverished nightscapes</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">where cold winds of youth</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rattle deserted cans of doubt,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the grime of lust and betrayal smeared on every building,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the scratches of rats’ feet across broken glass,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cat’s fighting in the</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dark.</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cloudy, cloudy nights block</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all light so that the neon sight of the gaudy motel</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sign is the only guide for me.</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a cloud which demands following,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a fire burning in the night</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">across forty year fields,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">through emptiness where no IPhone rings or Starbucks grows,</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">over sandy thirsty hills where the ignorant rule and the</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">foolish gain power.</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lakes of tears and winds of cries</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are stilled.</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And there is meaning when there are no answers. </span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4a627f6d-a0a6-b164-18e6-b91583338618" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standing on a hill, a ways from the moon,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a small teary boy, a one-eyed bear in hand,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">holds a balloon tethered to him by the thinnest string.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fingers loosen in release</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to allow the prized to</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">join the stars.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
</b>Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-58005300158209354892013-02-08T19:18:00.003-05:002013-02-08T19:18:20.790-05:00Voice<b id="internal-source-marker_0.8233611260075122" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">from female fetus #55 million:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is her Right.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am not a woman yet.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am a choice, and choices can be</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">reversed with consequences averted.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am the formless void of what is to come.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am the immigrant awaiting deportment. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I had a name like</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amy or Jane</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">instead of one like</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Regret or Tissue,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">would it be more difficult to say goodbye before</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hello?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can click all day long on “like” on your Facebook;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can research ‘till dawn DNA and my makeup;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can turn away now and pray hard that I’ll shut up,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but you can’t give a voice to me now?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I were born yesterday,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">would I be less naive than to believe I’d be</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">more real,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">more loved?</span></b>Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-79232352486293316692012-12-05T20:33:00.000-05:002013-02-08T19:18:35.028-05:00For Jimmy<br />
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
It becomes too heavy for one person </div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
on the back on the arm</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
across the shoulders</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Sometimes not as heavy </div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
as awkward</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
but sometimes </div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Well sometimes heavy too</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
until it cuts into the chest to bleed</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
begging to be unpacked</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
The contents secret</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
and in the water it does not </div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
float but drags like stone.</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<div>
Cover me at the bottom.</div>
<div>
Put sand over my mouth.</div>
<div>
Sing until I do not speak. </div>
<div>
Until I cannot hear.</div>
</div>
Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-63884428232879588232012-05-08T08:23:00.002-05:002012-05-08T08:23:27.130-05:00Senior Poem 2012: Song<span id="internal-source-marker_0.19991938909515738"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a joyfully solemn, seductive harmony of stars which fell on our worshipping lips at creation like tongues of dew. The song is the eternal legacy of mortals. Only parents can sing. Only children can hear. This is the words made song.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drawn to the wooden toy box past her own validation, she cannot </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tell herself any longer that someday is distant. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Delivered in mystery, varnished with history, each toy of her daughter is a </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">remembering.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_______</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fathers often, especially before the race of dawn, regret they have spent</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">much less time on fathering, and many more hours at the office than</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">required. At night the scratch at their chests is more for what was undone than for what was</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">done.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_______</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daring to remember is like a lullaby, simple in melody, complex in joy,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mimicked by youth from ancients.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moving from father, daughter, mother, son. Sometimes like a dove to the ark</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">returning.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_______</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reborn when it is late at night—so </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">much late that it is early—the blue soft </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">down moon glow blankets the beds where hoping children</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dream.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_______</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dreams are the verses, mercy the refrain; grace is the metrical </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">time. Love is found in gifting the song, when we be and stop</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">doing, with the aged roughed hands of </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">release.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_______</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fathers, remember the song of tenderness.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mothers, sing the song of letting go.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remember, sons, the song of courage.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daughters, the song of beauty.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a song that cradles us at morning, nurtures us at noon, points us to rest in the evening. There is a tune that stirs us when we falter, quiets us when we worry, welcomes us when we need home. </span></span>Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-28425286461795143972012-01-14T23:50:00.000-05:002012-01-14T23:50:51.276-05:00To Emily about RegretPreviously Published in <i>dotdotdash</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
If Hope is a feathered thing,<br />
Regret is simply<br />
<br />
a tardy ice<br />
spread over jonquils<br />
who too early broke their silence<br />
just to hope for spring.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-12592295011318268852011-12-06T17:28:00.000-05:002011-12-06T17:28:16.082-05:00CoinHe saw her in the coat room<br />
when he chaperoned her prom,<br />
and being her teacher,<br />
he looked on her as a father would;<br />
with pride he said, “Why, Charlotte,<br />
you look stunning.”<br />
She grinned back,<br />
and joined her date who stood outside the room.<br />
<br />
She saw him in the coat room<br />
when he chaperoned her prom,<br />
and being his student,<br />
she almost didn’t go in with him there alone;<br />
he said, “Why, Charlotte,<br />
you look stunning.”<br />
She awkwardly smiled,<br />
and joined her date who stood outside the room.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-15474384700351312042011-05-13T17:47:00.002-05:002011-05-13T17:47:52.450-05:00The Senior Poem 2011Parent to Child <br />
<br />
Dear Child,<br />
<br />
Out of our deepest love,<br />
expectation.<br />
<br />
My hatred for the word “precious”<br />
is not because you have no value,<br />
but because it is a word of greeting cards--cliched.<br />
You will never know what it feels like <br />
until a part of your soul<br />
lies in your hands and <br />
memorizes your face, searching for<br />
some clue on how to grow.<br />
Until the most beautiful thing witnessed<br />
is a tiny person in a crib sleeping.<br />
And while you nursed on sounds newly forming on your lips,<br />
I saw a future better than I.<br />
<br />
Out of our expectation,<br />
disappointment.<br />
<br />
Why is it we think the children will save us?<br />
The regret is that any bad choice you will ever make<br />
is a genetic mutation of my post-Edenic DNA.<br />
The regret is that many plans I had for us<br />
are still sitting in boxes yet to be opened<br />
with receipts crumpled in my pocket.<br />
The regret is <br />
with me.<br />
<br />
Out of our disappointment,<br />
honesty—<br />
<br />
the honesty about how I’ve tried to walk in your shoes,<br />
to taste your music,<br />
to talk as if age cannot steal youth from me,<br />
but now I must face the mirror and see<br />
the lines which read I am your parent and was not meant to be<br />
your friend.<br />
And I need your forgiveness for <br />
trying to be <br />
relevant.<br />
<br />
Out of our honesty,<br />
joy—<br />
<br />
the joy that although religion is profane,<br />
God is sacred and <br />
that our home is a cathedral,<br />
that I am the priest,<br />
that every chore we shared<br />
was a rite of worship,<br />
each memory a stained glass piece of<br />
a beautiful window through which we see the sky,<br />
and that every argument was a prayer that you would be less me.<br />
<br />
Out of our joy,<br />
contentment<br />
<br />
because family is an heirloom blanket, tattered and thread-bare,<br />
a scrap of grandma, a stitch of aunt,<br />
and if we<br />
are careful not to let it smother us,<br />
it will keep us warm.<br />
<br />
Out of our contentment,<br />
resolution<br />
<br />
that you have become what you have become,<br />
and I am what I am,<br />
and there is beauty and flaw in both,<br />
and that dirt was never anything but something to stand on<br />
until God planted his breath down deep,<br />
and in that resolution,<br />
my child,<br />
my precious child,<br />
is hope.<br />
<br />
Out of our resolution,<br />
hope.<br />
<br />
Out of our deepest love,<br />
hope.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-53118915224488019782011-04-03T16:29:00.001-05:002011-04-03T16:29:54.053-05:00<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20960385" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20960385">G.O.S.P.E.L.</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/humblebeast">Humble Beast Records</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-67280873079040466092011-02-27T19:04:00.004-05:002011-02-27T19:06:35.368-05:00The Game of Gossip in 1 Scene(The characters take the stage and form a line across the stage. St. John begins the line on stage right and the thirteen characters stand side by side facing the audience. Each character whispers his/her lines into the ear of the character to his left.)<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.5in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.5in;">ST. JOHN</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Your faith is evident in your acts of love.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 1</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your faith is evident in your acts of love.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 2</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your faith is evident in your acts of love.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 3</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your faith is evident in your acts.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 4</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your faith is evident in your acts.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 5</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your faith is your acts.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 6</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your faith is your acts.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 7</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your acts are your faith.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 8</div><div class="MsoNormal">You are your acts of faith.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 9</div><div class="MsoNormal">You are your acts and faith.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 10</div><div class="MsoNormal">You are your faith.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 11</div><div class="MsoNormal">Your faith is you.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> CHARACTER 12</div><div class="MsoNormal">You are faith.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> The End.</div>Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-77330952162921932672011-01-12T19:19:00.001-05:002011-01-12T19:22:30.621-05:00PoetsPoets cannot understand<br />
<br />
war or<br />
<br />
economics or<br />
<br />
politics or<br />
<br />
auto mechanics or<br />
<br />
even bookkeeping<br />
<br />
although they may pretend to.<br />
<br />
These are things without love.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Poets can only<br />
<br />
caress or<br />
<br />
cradle or<br />
<br />
nurse or<br />
<br />
ween or<br />
<br />
cause pain,<br />
<br />
the kind that brings hope.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-33421598978297975152010-12-15T14:13:00.000-05:002010-12-15T14:13:52.821-05:00Fighting Fish<i>When babies aren’t born,</i><br />
<br />
his wrinkled, calloused hands wrestle each other,<br />
<br />
<i>it hurts the daddy too.</i><br />
<br />
He sits in the lobby of the assisted care home, staring at the aquarium.<br />
<br />
<i>Not the same as the mother, but when a baby is stillborn—where the hell did they get the name anyway?Because the baby is still? There is nothing still afterwards.</i><br />
<i>We lost—she lost—three.The weirdest thing is for someone to be born dead. Born and dead at the same time.</i><br />
<br />
The water plants sway in the filtered water.<br />
<br />
<i>I think the thing that hurt most was packing up the crib and buying the little coffin, so small it looked like a stage prop. Everything must have its place to end. Everything finds its place.</i><br />
<br />
Water puddles on his lower eyelid.<br />
<br />
<i>Sometimes I wonder what if. I guess there is no reason to think of these fill in the blanks as much as I do. </i><br />
<br />
The setting sun bleeds pink through the window. I will have to leave soon.<br />
<br />
<i>She left me soon after we buried the last one. We stayed married in the same house, but she was never really there--not inside.</i><br />
<br />
He chuckles. I follow his stare to two pink fish in the tank, repeatedly kissing and backing away flirtatiously.<br />
<br />
<i>Ever see pink gouramis? the fish? It looks like they’re kissing. They’re beautiful, but they’re actually</i><br />
<br />
The gnarled knuckles of each hand hit.<br />
<br />
<i>doing battle. They’re trying to suck the life out of each other. That’s what we were.</i><br />
<br />
There is a ringing of our own silence that makes me shift my view.<br />
<br />
<i>Nothing causes everything to die inside--where they can’t be repaired or replaced--like a child’s death. ‘Specially one you never knew. </i>Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-4861713924365938722010-12-12T16:43:00.000-05:002010-12-12T16:43:45.524-05:00Prayer, Second VersionMostly is not all<br />
as evidenced forever,<br />
a fate so apropos<br />
no jury would deny.<br />
Midnight died for lack of prayer,<br />
and yet I beat my fists against your father chest.<br />
"You are no father to me," I shout without remorse.<br />
<br />
The runes of blood tattooed<br />
across your skin remind me<br />
there is nothing more frightening than<br />
God damning, nothing more deserved.<br />
Now your holy fingers<br />
slip into the sinew of my thigh, and<br />
I fight no more.<br />
<br />
You were my great whiting out,<br />
painted over heart textures,<br />
relief and ravine of soul,<br />
onion paper over bone stretched.<br />
<br />
Be thou my cancer --<br />
the eating of my core,<br />
the tendrils inseparably spiraling around my hopes--<br />
the vegetable spine that wills against desire.<br />
<br />
Take the colors from me,<br />
the hazing demanding verdict,<br />
the deadline long since passed,<br />
the message clearly given:<br />
<br />
Abuse is not grace.<br />
Release is not grace.<br />
Forget is not grace.<br />
Cost is grace.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-14150693471447253072010-10-19T18:07:00.000-05:002010-10-19T18:07:22.216-05:00IntroversionThe pulse is beats across <br />
the hand with a wooden rod.<br />
The lungs are sponges for baptismal water<br />
pressing across the chest.<br />
The rumblings of meaning are slight taps<br />
on the shoulder of a stranger—<br />
“Could you please remove your hat?”<br />
The voice of thunder barely rustles<br />
the re-sewn veil.<br />
Grace is a gift lying broken,<br />
rocking back and forth,<br />
on the floor<br />
after the party.<br />
<br />
How can I be real to you<br />
when every word is digitized?<br />
How can I climb into your heart<br />
when my legs are scabbed and atrophied?<br />
How can I be what you need <br />
when all I worship are words?Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-5734465111950349532010-09-25T09:44:00.001-05:002010-09-25T09:44:12.767-05:00The Crowd on the MARTAShadows don’t know<br />
what<br />
is figure and ground.<br />
Someone should tell them.<br />
They think<br />
they have substance of<br />
more than just absence,<br />
defining themselves by<br />
what<br />
they are not.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-77773801710551223802010-08-31T19:13:00.001-05:002010-08-31T19:13:37.562-05:00131Today my heart is not lifted up.<br />
Sometimes I lift my eyes unto the hills.<br />
Today my eyes contemplate the sand.<br />
<br />
Sometimes I sing until I’m sore.<br />
Today I am silent.<br />
<br />
I have calmed and quieted my soul<br />
like a little boy<br />
reaching up to his mother’s hand<br />
<br />
like a little boy<br />
silent and waiting<br />
<br />
with a mother<br />
who has nothing to say<br />
but stares ahead.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-4783706377769471722010-08-11T14:57:00.003-05:002010-08-11T15:02:19.216-05:00PrayerMostly is not all<br />
<br />
as evidenced forever,<br />
<br />
a fate so apropos,<br />
<br />
the emptiness to fill.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The runes of blood tattooed<br />
<br />
across your skin remind me<br />
<br />
there is nothing more frightening than <br />
<br />
God damning, nothing more deserved.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
You are my cancer--<br />
<br />
the eating of my core,<br />
<br />
the tendrils inseparably spiraling around my will--<br />
<br />
the vegetable spine that wills against desire. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Intimate finger trace<br />
<br />
skimmed over heart textures,<br />
<br />
relief and ravine of soul<br />
<br />
over finite bone stretched.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Take the colors from me,<br />
<br />
the hazing demanding verdict,<br />
<br />
the deadline long since passed,<br />
<br />
the message given clear:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Abuse is not grace.<br />
<br />
Release is not grace.<br />
<br />
Forget is not grace.<br />
Cost is grace.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-46051403202182631352010-07-07T22:16:00.005-05:002010-07-10T08:34:21.765-05:00i__g_neIs it ok to not want _____? <br />
to recognize that the____________ would <br />
cheapen_________? <br />
is it all right to want to hold on to <br />
_____makes me Black <br />
and ____White <br />
even __________________<br />
and not want the gray __________ <br />
____the brushes are washed? <br />
<br />
Maybe _______to mulch and _____<br />
the roots of my ___________<br />
and care _______my______ . <br />
Maybe I can't cram an _______<br />
into a ________________________. <br />
Maybe I should be <br />
colorless, ________, tasteless <br />
carbon monoxide <br />
slowly, silently killing _________ in the garage. <br />
<br />
Or maybe, John, <br />
I don't want to ________a world of harmony. <br />
Maybe I want to be free <br />
to hate <br />
if hating defines my love.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-65880256683021153702010-05-11T20:53:00.003-05:002010-05-30T09:03:56.698-05:00This Year's Senior PoemTwo Lanes: On Your Graduation<br /><br />One hour from now you will<br />emerge from these robes,<br />listen to the congratulations of people you don’t remember,<br />and fly in a swirl of celebration.<br /><br />Forty years from now I will,<br />with trembling hands, fumble through yellow papers<br />and find this, and pause, and try to remember now.<br />“I think I know who they are…” I will say,<br />And I will miss my mother.<br /><br />One year from now you will<br />come to visit your high school<br />and watch new players fill the old roles.<br />“Do I really have to wear this visitor’s tag?” you will say.<br />You’ll wonder at how like children we are.<br /><br /><br />Twenty years from now I will<br />slowly set my books into a cardboard box,<br />take down the diplomas, and look at my wife.<br />“Maybe now we can take time for us,” I will say<br />as if it had been a sacrifice.<br /><br />Five years from now you will<br />straighten the creases of your best suit<br />and wonder if the air conditioning is working.<br />“What I lack in experience I make up in loyalty,” you will say<br />during your first real interview.<br /><br />Ten years from now I will<br />regret to inform you that I cannot<br />attend your wedding because it falls<br />on the same day that I take my child to college,<br />and you will remember—it seems like yesterday— <br />each time you were left at school.<br />“I understand,” you will say, and then forget it,<br />as you should,<br />because you can only think of the beauty of every minute detail of your love.<br /><br />Five years from now I will<br />wonder if all fathers of teenagers<br />grip the inside door when their children drive.<br />“Would it hurt you to just slow down a little?” I will say,<br />and I will mean it in two ways.<br /><br /><br />Twenty years from now you will<br />see the mother and father of it all as you<br />hold the infant reverently.<br />“I didn’t know love felt this deep,” you will say, <br />and trace the edges of her fingers.<br /><br />One year from now I will <br />write another poem for another class<br />and remember this moment<br />“Every year I write a poem for the senior class,” I will say.<br />Many of them will forget it.<br /><br />Forty years from now you will look in her eyes,<br />and it will make full circle sense.<br />I didn’t know happiness could hurt this much, you think, but you say, “It happened when I wasn’t looking,” <br />and you will know that there is nothing more beautiful <br />than a bride who will always be your little girl.<br /><br />One hour--<br />two hours—<br />three hours—<br />four—<br /><br />I have no idea what I will be doing.<br />I have no idea what you will be.<br />I have no idea what I will.<br />I have no idea what.<br />I have no idea why<br />or when.<br />There is only who.<br /><br />I know the three, like ancient fates<br />who always surround us looking over our cribs<br />with holy tears:<br />Faith who carries us like children crying for home.<br />Hope who encourages our adolescent spirits to be free.<br />And Love who waits for us with Father arms to <br />smooth our hair, to kiss us, to tell us the storm has gone.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-4934144534852814792010-04-20T10:49:00.003-05:002010-04-28T18:57:35.832-05:00The Loss that Changed EverythingThis is what I remember,<br />the pencil sketches on newsprint<br />that I must translate.<br /><br />I remember, five, you at two, brother,<br />the smell of your boy sweat hair,<br />the grasp of fingers into my shirt<br />as one we wrestled on a carpet, our imaginary sea.<br /><br />I remember the morning a week later<br />you left me:<br />Father carrying me, whispering to me he loved<br />me, whispering of <br />Jesus,<br />whispering the stains of weeping <br />on his cheeks.<br />I remember someone visiting and <br />giving me a set of <br />over two <br />hundred<br />crayons which even then I thought a gift<br />too small to match <br />or burn<br />the loss.<br /><br />But mostly I remember sitting in a small<br />rocking chair while the adults mourned,<br />hearing the wails and moans and mournings of a <br />cat that had <br />homed under our house and<br />wondering where they had hidden you <br />and if I could set you free.<br /><br />I have been told not to write a confessional<br />because when you grow up,<br />nobody cares,<br />but this is for me finally and not <br />for them.Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-91264725229335967312010-04-08T10:40:00.000-05:002010-04-08T10:41:49.498-05:00A Flarf PoemCancer Collage<br /><br />View the Cancer Collage, Breast Cancer Survivor,<br />innovative art programs for people living with cancer<br />dedicated to improving the care of<br />the surgical patient.<br />Contribute to a our multimedia community of people living free of charge<br />with cancer,<br />inspiring words of Courageous, determined, perseverance, hope, faith, ...<br />A massive Flash<br />Beautifully double-matted photo frame displays<br />six of your favorite breast cancer photos.<br />Find the perfect breast featured, female, feminine, girly, healing, pink.<br />A renowned physician<br />believes women's milk.<br />Merry Christmas, ChildhoodJef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476692489687246392.post-21145816672594302902010-04-03T19:35:00.000-05:002010-04-03T19:36:26.300-05:00Easter Sundaymen tip their hats<br /><br />women smile demurely<br /><br />and children high-five<br /><br />the risen Lord<br /><br />in passing thanks<br /><br />for the egg-grace<br /><br />hidden in the grass<br /><br />Sunday morning<br /><br />the chocolate God love<br /><br />found on the church playground<br /><br />or at brunch in new poplin<br /><br />or at golf<br /><br />in appreciation<br /><br />for what happened on a hole in one-less hill in Israel.<br /><br />I sit and judge them,<br /><br />but is this day so different<br /><br />from each day I<br /><br />assume His grace was cheap?Jef Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16103842188703390229noreply@blogger.com0