Jeebus


 

Jeebus

I am sitting on
the end of the couch,
where the pillows
have been arranged
to resemble a
recliner.

It’s my Holy of Holies.

Only it’s turning
into quicksand, as
I sink into a
tar pit of pity
for my underachieving
Self.

As I’m about to
go under,
there’s a bustling,
as my Imaginary Friend,
Jeebus,
appears.

(If you don’t have
an Imaginary Friend
I can hook you up.)

“Dude,” he says,
“this is beyond pathos.
I’m here for an
intervention.”

I’m surprised he
doesn’t tire of
this routine,
but he’s a gamer.

“I’ve got something
for you,” and
he pulls a little box
from his imaginary
pocket.

He pops it open
to reveal a tiny,
twinkly obelisk.

“This is designed
to broadcast
Magic Moments,”
he announces
in a magic moment
sort of incantation.

“Really,” I say,
rolling my eyes,
“that’s a clichè.”

“I could make it
more poetic, I
suppose,” he says,
rolling his eyes
right back at me.
“Do you like
‘ephemera?’”

“Whatever,” I sigh.

“Here’s the thing,”
he says,
“what’s magical
about it is,
for one moment
you can be
Who you want
to be, and,
if you like,
it will keep broadcasting,
one Magic Moment
at-a-time.”

And then he was
gone,
but the obelisk
remained.

If I pay attention,
maybe I can
get used to
living,
one Magic Moment
at-a-time.

That Jeebus
is such an
ephemera.

(Photo by Matt Palmer; UnSplash)

Return To Sender


 

Return To Sender

Early on
I was instructed to
“give my life to
the Lord.”

I did my best –
the way I wrapped it
may have been
a little sloppy,
I was just a kid –
but I sent it
First Class.

I was told
the Lord would
take care of
everything,
in exchange for
my obedience.

I confess
there have been times
I’ve been,
to say the least,
puzzled by the
outcomes of this
micro-management,
but I chalked it up to
my obviously inadequate
obedience.

Awhile back
a package was
delivered –
all I saw was a flutter
of wings.

The label said,
“Return to Sender.”
Inside was a message:

“We’ve been trying to
give your Life
back to you
for decades, but

you seem to
have been
hiding.

We love you
and your good
intentions,
but you were meant
to have
your Life.

No worries.
You’ve got some
years left.

There’s no end
of adventures:
Funny ones,
scary ones,
some that will
leave you breathless,
with your viscera
overflowing with
euphoria.
But you’ll need to
take your Life back.

We hope you’ll
forgive us for
having a bit of
fun
watching you
try to be
obedient.

All our love.”

(Photo by Kira Aufderheide; UnSplash)

God’s Will


 

God’s Will

I allowed my Self
to be put into
an invisible cage
called God’s Will.

I was told that
all I needed
to do was
explore its
contours and
I would understand
all I needed
to know.

But mostly
I huddled
in place.

It was invisible,
and I feared
to walk where
I couldn’t see.

But I could
read books,
tossed into The Cage
by kind passersby,

I could see
dancers
in the distance,
hear rhythm and
blues being
thrummed by
wild fingers,
standup comics
set up microphones
somewhere just
outside The Cage, and
there were Saturday
Movie Matinees
projected on those
invisible walls.

One day I
arose and started to
walk,

feeling for bars,
so I’d know
just how far
God wanted me
to go.

It’s been
a few years now,
and I just
keep walking.

I’m beginning to
think it may be
safe

to start running,
or even try
flying.

(Photo by Ye Jinghan; UnSplash)

Bucket List


 

Bucket List

I daydreamed
a different idea
for a Bucket List,
wherein there are
multiple buckets,

each containing
Intentions to
Act on Desires
nurtured by an
Imagination
custom designed for
me.

(You have one, too.)

There’s a bucket for
Good Works,
there’s a bucket for
Play,
a bucket for
Work
I can’t seem to
shirk.

There’s a bucket marked
“Divine,”
and one marked
“Just for Fun,”

a bucket for
Giving
and one for
Receiving.

I thought of
dividing them
further,

the Holy Ones
on the right,
the mundane or
simply pleasurable
on the left,
beginning with
the obvious:

Giving
on the Right,
Receiving
on the Left.
Heavenly
on the Right,
Earthly
on the Left.

But then my
Imagination
was overcome by
a Vision,

of an Angel
dispatched to
apprehend me.

“My friend,” said
The Messenger,

“You’re wasting precious
Time to Play.”

Then she laughed,
and proceeded to
kick my buckets
until everything was

One Holy Mess.

(Photo by Ella Ivanescu; UnSplash)

Staying Indoors


 

Staying Indoors

It began
innocently enough.

I was helpless,
being rolled around
in a stroller,
drooling all over
my little bib and tucker.

But before I end up,
seventy years later,
being rolled around
in a stroller,
drooling all over
my little bib and tucker,

I want to figure out
why I’m still letting
the grownups
tell me Who I Am.

“You’re such a good
little reader, but
you shouldn’t
read that;

be a good boy,
and give your heart
to Jesus;

don’t touch that,
or I’ll get my
stick.

Everybody loves
that movie,
what’s wrong
with you?

Why are you still
inside, Stevie?
Go outside and play.

What do you mean,
you’re not coming?
The whole neighborhood
will be there.”

Meanwhile,
my Maker
finds ways to
remind me that

the thing about
being offspring of
The Divine is
you are

cherished,
adored,
beloved,

even when
you stay indoors
to read that book
you’re not supposed
to read.

(Photo by Josh Applegate; UnSplash)

Bemusement


 

Bemusement

In a sloppy slough of
self-abnegation and
despond,
no doubt conspired
by some
rabid variant of
narcissism,

I was regaling
my Beloved
with a recitation
of the myriad
means and manners
of my slippery
sloth and crafty
procrastination,

comparing my Self,
disfavorably,
to my industrious
manly neighbors,
flashing their tools
and implements of
homey improvements.

She reminded me
that my constant
comparisons
have their roots in
junior high school
behavior,
and I wound down
my self-involved
mumblings,
with apologies.

This morning
I watched my skillful
neighbor
drive away for his
morning coffee,

and wondered
what demons of
self-doubt
assault him,
or harass the friendly
craftsman
across the street?

Perhaps I could
invite them,
in a manner
I have yet to
devise,

to take a plunge
with me
into the bottomless
ocean of
exuberant Love
we forget that
surrounds us, and

drowns
our foolish
comparings
in waves of
bemusement.

(Photo by Alevision-co; UnSplash)

Unbreakable Threads


 

Unbreakable Threads

You came into
this circus of a life
with a child’s glee,

eager to walk
tightropes and
fly,
or maybe you had
the heart of a
clown, or the
soul of a dancer,
the fingers of
the fiddler who
wraps flights of
fancy around the
lithesome acrobatics of
tumbling tricksters.

A place was
reserved for you,
but maybe you suffer from
fear of falling.

Maybe you decided
you’d rather
just watch.

Would it make a
difference to you
if you knew
there were legions of
divine seamsters
who’ve sewn for you
an endless safety net of
the unbreakable threads of
Belovedness
that have always
held you?

That when you fall
it’s just another
tumble
into arms made of
adoration for
the moxie that
moves you?

If you haven’t already,
it may be time
for you to
run away and
join the Circus.

(Photo by Ameer Basheer; UnSplash)

Out On a Limb


 

Out On a Limb

It’s been a long while
since I worshipped
that black,
leather-bound text
assiduously assembled
by King James and his
hand-picked Hampton Court
crew of mordant men
(no ladies were invited.)

But I can still admire
the subversive bits
that make me smile
at their impish implications,
to wit:

Right from the
git-go
we’re told that
the fruit of a
particular tree
will bring death,
though its fruit
is quite tasty.

It drops my jaw
to read, again,
that the maleficent
juicy fruit
is none other than
judging between
good and evil.

Yet, my life has been built
from judgment:

This, not that,
should and shouldn’t,
good, better, best,
winners take all,
I wish I was,
I wish I wasn’t . . .

Compare, compare, compare.
And always
coming up short.

There was another tree.

I want to read,
nay, write,
the story of
what might be,
what might have been,

had we eaten from
the Tree of Life.

Or, translating from the
original angelic tongues,

The Tree of Love.

(Photo by Faye Cornish; UnSplash)