Thursday, February 5, 2009

poetry anyone?

Sarah over at a warrior princess and a set of wings wrote the best poem the other day, and it inspired me to post some of mine. I've been writing a workbook for our church that will be used for a five week series on imaginative prayer. Cool project. And for each week, I wrote a poem to accompany the exercises. The poems are all prayers. So, for your reading enjoyment (and hopefully also for your spiritual nourishment), I give you the poem for week one:

waiting

i am here.

i’m in this place, waiting for you.

i’m waiting like those wise men,
following a star like a fool.

i’m waiting like jonah
covered in the slime and scale of the sea,
deep in the belly of darkness
hoping for a rescue.

i’m waiting like your mother
pregnant with fear and love.

i’m waiting like our first parents
in the stillness of the garden
listening for your footsteps.

i’m waiting like you did
on the day I was born and
you spoke my name into the world
and said I was good.

what a surprise to find you
already here
so quiet-
waiting for me.

10 comments:

  1. Mmmm . . . I love this. Love the poem and REALLY LOVE THE SERIES ON IMAGINATIVE PRAYER!

    Terri, you are my kind of girl. Will you be my friend? Check yes or no. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Trying not to blog.....oh well....could not resist a statement you made.

    "i’m waiting like those wise men,
    following a star like a fool."

    Terri I will tell you, honestly if it were not for the fact that I feel so dead to God, that line could drive me mad for God. It makes me just cry. All I can do is cry.

    That statement is very, very, deep. That line could preach! I could write a sermon on that. I am still shaking my head at that statement.
    God only comes to the foolish........for the wise will never see through His eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, Terri. I love this poem. I love the images and connections.
    This year, it feels like Advent never ended. And I know there's a sense that's not true and a sense that's true. Christ has come, but Christ will come again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. christianne: oh honey, i checked the yes box a long time ago. and i'll make a deal with you...you give me a detailed account of philly and i'll send you a workbook when it's finished. deal?

    tammy: never underestimate foolish faith. i'm so glad this touched you (so much so that you violated your own blogging ban!)...if you ever write that sermon i'd love to read it.

    heather: it feels to me like you've been covered in some of that slime and scale of the sea these days. i'm sorry. i started to respond to one of your recent posts about that but everything just sounded to pithy so i gave up. but i'm listening and i think i get it. yes, christ has come and christ will come again.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Terri...wow. I feel like I'm knowing better and better what it's like to follow the star like a fool...and that line sums it up perfectly.

    And a whole series on imaginative prayer...wow (again). I'm struck by the openness and tempo that your church must have to do that...how awesome!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You speak to my soul,

    Its so good to sit here
    by the fire
    with you

    And wait...

    With love, M

    ReplyDelete
  7. sarah: i'm glad to hear i'm not the only one who feels that way sometimes. and yes, it's pretty cool to be in a place that is interested in these kinds of things.

    maithri: hope you're comfortable by that fire for a long time. peace, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. terri I love this poem and we are looking forward to seeing more. would love to see what you have put together so far...it is connecting contemplatives around the world and close to home and behind the scenes i'm eager to sink deeply and swim in this fully. cannot wait.

    ReplyDelete
  9. waiting is a pervasive (as in: i'm trying to shake it off like toilet paper off my shoe) theme in my life right now, so i gravitated toward this. but then in your poem, i see: waiting for God is good, and when in the history of all creation has He not proven that when He shows up, when He delivers, when He rescues, when he brings things to fruition & to their rightful culmination?

    i'll say it again, boldly:
    i love you!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. already there...yes, so true, and waiting for us...

    beautiful poem, Terri

    THG, your "check yes or no" cracked me up!

    ReplyDelete