Aileen
believes the world is ending because social media told her so
Shoot, the
world’s been ending ever since Jesus told us it would end
Hush up was Aileen’s response to me
You need to know how bad things are
out there
When I
leave her house, I go to adoration and just sit
The world
could be falling apart right now, people banging on the door
Threatening
everything you could do to mankind
It don’t
matter, cause in this room with my eyes on Jesus, there is peace, a glimpse
into heaven
At thirteen while preparing for Confirmation,
I was given the name Maria
Mary is what I meant, but Maria, Maria Goretti
Stayed as my Confirmation saint
Never heard of her
A year later, I watched a documentary on Fatima
Mary, please don't give this timid soul a message to give to the world
She agreed
But, what if it did happen?
What would I do?
Go to a priest, our family friend who thought I was flakey
Camp out in an adoration chapel, too fearful to face the world
See my psychiatrist, so she can adjust my medication
Maria Goretti, remember her?
She forgave her attacker
In return, he campaigned for her canonization
Could I forgive as Maria?
Or fall down the rabbit hole of depression
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King
Growing up in Atlanta Dr King loomed large in our minds. Yet perhaps a bit larger in mine. My grandparents were civil rights activists and marched in Albany, GA with him. I am grateful to come from people who understood we are all created equally in the eyes of God. May we live by these powerful words.
Come to me my dear child
You who are weary
With cold clinging to your bones
Come to your mother who loves you
And I shall sing you a lullaby
For one more night we light the tree
The wise men's journey has come to an end
Fr John marks our door with chalk
As we pray for a blessing
Indeed last year we were blessed despite illness, bread lines, and closed signs
At the word, amen a candle was lit
Ever faithful Hail Mary was prayed
Deep breaths before we sing
We Three Kings
I ponder on the nativity
Could I trust the way Mary trusted ?
Filth and cold awaiting a new born
Flight into Egypt
My pillowy world has turned me into a halfhearted woman of prayer
Recently, a voice whispers to me, "wake up, the cold is coming. It will fall like rain, and I am the only shelter."
On that cold Christmas Eve we stood in the cold
Our eyes fixed upon the nativity scene
Mama prayed for Father to come home
No doubt my brother Tommy prayed for a bike
I prayed that my mother finds her smile
We havent seen it for so long
Baby Jesus must have been listening
Because I heard Mama laugh as she watched a little boy climb in the manger crib
The warmest place on earth
He's just a man and God made plenty of them
Pull the trigger
Clear your mind
This is your job
Red coats us inside and out
My hands white
Should be red
Pull the trigger
Pull the trigger
No bullets
Gun falls to the ground
I mutter a prayer I learned as a child
My turn to be at someone's mercy
