Verse – MY HERO

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The pain is constant
How can he hammer a nail
The middle of the stomach
Abdomen hurt first
How can he still care
About the chronic pain of others

Then he noticed his back ached
Why does he still write and give speeches
The aches spread around both his sides
Where will he fly next around the world
Habitats here peacemaking there
When did the CT scan confirm cancer

Pancreatic a quick killer
What will he teach this Sunday
The codeine cuts agony in half
But constipation adds new pain
Is his faith a factor
What is he smiling about

  • Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, November 18, 2015
This entry was posted in America, Death and dying, Faith, Life and tagged , , by Gordon C. Stewart. Bookmark the permalink.
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About Gordon C. Stewart

I've always liked quiet. And, like most people, I've experienced the world's madness. "Be Still! Departure from Collective Madness" (Wipf and Stock Publishers, Jan. 2017) distills 47 years of experiencing stillness and madness as a campus minister and Presbyterian pastor (IL, WI, NY, OH, and MN), poverty criminal law firm executive director, and social commentator. Our cat Lady Barclay reminds me to calm down and be much more still than I would be without her.

6 thoughts on “Verse – MY HERO”

  1. A good example of “By his works, ye shall know him.” In the election that put him up against Ronald Reagan, conservative christians reviled him, in the small town I lived near and adored Reagan. I thought they were nuts! Guess they thought past presidents should bask in their glory and get huge speaking fees like Reagan did… (Prosperity gospel?}. Much to remember and consider.

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    • Jimmy Carter is a great human being. Pure and simple. A real human being without guile. A humble Sunday School teacher who still lives in Plains, GA, affecting the world following his presidency with the same principles of peace-making and compassion. A realist of the best sort. One who saw and sees the complexities and ambiguities. Perhaps that’s why some reviled him. No complexity allowed in some circles.

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  2. One whose faith was lived out. Ridiculed and laughed at, he continues humbly and bravely walking through life with hardly any guile. Pres. Carter is surely a man of God.

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    • Hi is one of the humblest presidents in American history. He was right on energy. He kept us out of war. His presidency ended too soon because of the Iranian hostage crisis. What he’s done since leaving office is regarded as his greatest legacy. I think history will show him as the fore-runner of climate change policy shifts that were abandoned when he left office, a kind of prophetic figure in the White House.

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