Song of Silent Reliance came from a time of Advent quiet, in December 1992. I sensed the Spirit
of God, and wanted to describe the essence of what I sensed. As with Take and Eat, I felt that
this was something too personal to share at the time, but the Lord overcame my shyness.
The best explanation I can give for Take and Eat is the letter I wrote to the editor who first
published it:
Please find enclosed a poem I wrote almost two years ago, which I haven't known what to do
with...The writing of this poem was an unusual experience. I don't write often, and when I do it
takes much effort. But I must confess that the writing of this poem was not a deliberate act on my
part. It was a brief, strange compulsion, with the words being drawn through me, from beyond
myself. That is why I felt sheepish about sharing it.
The Squirrel's Tail is by far the oldest of these poems. I wrote it in the 9th grade. Mr. Henson
gave us the overnight assignment to write anything of two pages length, and call it the Squirrel's
Tail/Tale. I got on a Dr. Seuss-like roll.
Lazarus, Alabaster, I Just Know that I Belong to You, and The God I Used to Know are
examples of how the church can upset us. The last was during my medication for depression
and estrangement from my church body.
Break Down the Walls was inspired by the 1996 Promise Keepers Rally at the Charlotte Motor
Speedway.
Esse Quam Videri is the motto of the State of North Carolina in Latin. (It means "To be, rather
than to seem.") The poem was written immediately following a poetry writing workshop on the
UNC-CH campus, and inspired by the setting.
What We Share was inspired by the experience of the three-day weekend retreat using the
Cursillo method. I attended a Via De Cristo weekend in May 1991, and have served on teams for
two
Eastern North Carolina Via De Cristo weekends, and, I think, five Mid-Carolinas Tres Dias
weekends. Via De Cristo is Lutheran, Walk to Emmaus is Methodist, Cursillo is either Catholic or
Episcopal, and Tres Dias is interdenominational.
This feature is a result of inspiration provoked by other poetry.
The first poem is NOT mine. The second, of course, is.
The "Stairway" rises "Heaven
high"-
The "steps" are dark and steep,
In weariness we climb them
As we stumble, fall and weep...
And many times we falter
Along the "path of prayer"
Wondering if You hear us
And if You really care...
Oh, give us some assurance,
Restore our faith anew,
So we can keep on climbing
The "Stairs of Prayer" to You-
For we are weak and wavering,
Uncertain and unsure,
And only meeting You in prayer
Can help us to endure
All life's trials and troubles
It's sickness, pain and sorrow,
And give us strength and courage
To face and meet tomorrow!
- Unknown GB,DJ
Daily prayers are heaven's stairs,
but beware the falsehood hidden:
In humble pride,
denial hides,
and thinks that we are bidden,
to climb the stairs,
confessing anguish, doubt and fear,
and thus of troubles ridden,
we meet the Lord?!...
How horribly misgiven!
So what if our knees are bent,
it doesn't mean we can't repent,
confess our pious feeling,
and realize
in our Lord's eyes,
we're already befriended,
and climbing stairs with uttered prayers,
is not what He intended!
Help us see,
and patient be,
while those same stairs descends,
the Master we are called to serve,
and lovingly He bends,
lavishing hugs and kisses.
Amid the tears,
of many years,
his Spirit's endless pleading,
"Will you help to spread the word,
My real reason for bleeding?"
Scroll down for rebuttal feature
To David is a personal ode to God's work in providing supernatural marvel and appreciation
of His provision of brotherhood for those who have no natural brother. Alas, things are not
always what they seem, and it may have had its transitional provision, but nothing lasting.
Best to forget and move on.
Tent of Romance is the result of an amazing and powerful workshop/retreat by
CelebrationofBeing.com . My life is forever changed by this wonderful healing organization!