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
Silk around my neck
I love the feeling
Now gently squeeze
Squeeze till there's a blur
Above me are beams
From a table,
I fix the silk around the beam
And attach it to my neck
I almost jumped
Thorns twisted to make a crown
Appear on a man
Sadness for him pierced my heart
I removed the silk from my neck
Knelt down in tears
Through my tears and sorrow I prayed
Christmas lights blind me as I walk down the street
Don't feel like Christmas
Not with my toyshop, my little business shut down
Picking up cans of soup and beans and bags of fruit was the task of the day
Now I walk
Craving beer
Afraid once I start I wont stop
Of course I can't afford the stuff no how
So I walk
Walked till my legs bout gave out
Needing rest, I followed a man inside a church
The interior painted my soul, dark
Turns out the man I followed was a priest
"God be with you, my son"
"God ain't with me, lost everything this year. Can't even afford food."
"Yes, hard times are upon us, but Our Lord weeps with us."
He lit a purple candle on the alter
"People rarely come to church, I fear this place may shut down."
Together we shed a tear
His agony and mine weren't too different
"That candle I lit represents hope. People out there are celebrating consumerism, not Christmas. In hear we are awaiting the birth of Christ."
Hope
