I pack my bag to get ready for the day. The usual: notebook, laptop, lunch. And the little ball of anxiety, tight as rubber bands, that still expands the more I find to wrap around it. Where is hope to be found, and where the faith that stands on tip-toe? I pack my bag with … Continue reading Why We Smile At Funerals

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26) Like every journey, it had unexpected crossroads and unpredictable turnings. I took the road in stride, my faith rewarded with safe … Continue reading Crossroads

I was asked to write a poem for the Advent candle lighting this past Sunday at church, with a focus on John the Baptist. I thought of him out in the desert, forging a path for his Messiah, then realized that he himself was probably being forged. We call Advent a time of preparation, not … Continue reading St John the Baptist

Poetry grows where the soil is rich. I rarely went outside to play; even outside is a place not grown but built, trees planned and planted, uprooted when they uproot sidewalks. A place that goes out dressed as other places and rarely seen as home. A place few stay in and then mostly for the … Continue reading Growing Poetry In Vancouver

I actually like the rain; not for itself so much as for the ripples it makes in my life: hot chocolate and sweaters and blankets and armchairs— they all fall into place by the third week of September, with the patter of water on pavement. New seasons, they say, are a blessing, reorienting rhythms of … Continue reading Autumn Rain

Walking around in circles In my head. I know this is a trick Or some spider’s web of lies. I am alone. The world reduced  To what I see ahead, eyes locked forward And must not look behind, Yet I turn around and around In my head. What if she is there, No trick or … Continue reading Orpheus Walks

  Isaiah 11:1-9 You went upstairs behind a door— Of course you’re coming down, With trumpets blaring, clouds aflame, With sceptre, sword, and crown. Prepare the way! Clean up the mess! Make sure the band’s in tune! And keep an eye up to the sky, For He is coming soon! But what if you’re already … Continue reading Stumped: An Advent Poem