eight adults were at the party
all were sharing air and stories
three were couples two were singles
married folks heard few surprises
tales were old though some were funny
one would listen as their partner
heard a second use a keyword
and would know the family legend
for the thousandth time told retold
the same pauses the same laughter
the same pride that in our family
there was such an odd character
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, December 7, 2013
Nelson Mandela
A Light
In the
Dark night
His light
Does not
Dim.
– Gordon C. Stewart, Chaska, MN, Dec. 5, 2013
…L
…I
…G
…H
…T
For ten
Hours
Power
Was off
With the
Storm.
After
Sunset
We lit a
Candle
In each
Room.
The fire
From the
Grate
Kept
Us all
Warm:
We each
Prayed
No one
Else
Came to
Harm…
– Steve Shoemaker, Dec. 4, 2013
Compare the spirit of Steve’s poem with that of the survivalist at last February’s public dialogue on guns who challenged the audience to think hard about the time when the little girl from next door comes to your home because you’ve stockpiled food and her family hasn’t prepared for the catastrophe. He was making the argument against gun control. “Ufdah!” as we say here in Minnesota. There are many rooms, but we all live in the ONE house. “In my Father’s house are many rooms.”
Light a candle and say a prayer.
tree house pulley
We finally just tied a rope
to the pulley’s long steel hook
that hurt our young and weary hands.
We fell to hell, but screamed with hope
– Steve Shoemaker, November 30, 2013
Poem by Sebastian Moore OSB, Downside Abbey, England
Dom Sebastian Moore OSB, a Benedictine Monk at Downside Abbey, England, was featured yesterday on Views from the Edge. The poem in the form it appears here was featured in an Archbishop’s e-newsletter. In his later years Sebastian Moore has come to express himself increasingly in poetry. This one is from his book The Contagion of Jesus: Doing Theology as if It Mattered, Orbis Books, 2007.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to read all three before drawing conclusions about the first. -:)
They can afford to drive that car?
How is it possible if they
Are getting food stamps? Is it fair
Now in America to be
Killing yourself with cigarettes,
Smoking away your life, and have
Grandkids while still having kids?
Is there no shame for those who live
Very foolishly on welfare,
Indulging in deserts — to say
Nothing about drinking that beer,
Giving thanks for another day?
Those weasels live above the law,
Having their attorneys to wheel
And deal so they will never pay,
Never spend one day in the jail,
Knowing taxes are not for them.
Some people live in luxury,
Give parties, always see their name
In papers, send their kids away
Very soon to schools where they all
Inbreed and learn of drugs–to say
Nothing about drinking Cristal
Giving thanks for another day.
Giving thanks for another day
Reminds me middle-class folks, too,
Are not perfect in every way:
Cautious, conservative, it’s true–
Everyone for self must pray.
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, November 26, 2013
My friend Steve reads way too widely sometimes. The following are rated R or at least PG.
An Old Roué’s Laments
There are no extra-marital thrills,
My ardor grows hot and then chills,
For my wife is quite sly,
She forbids me to try,
And she counts all my little blue pills!
On computers, I never watch porn
No memory makes me forlorn:
My passwords are long gone,
I can’t get my log-on,
Drinking buddies all hold me in scorn.
– S. Robertson
Note from Steve: I pass these on, in spite of their semi-scurrilous content, because the news these days is mainly depressing and I needed a laugh and thought you might, too.
– Steve Shoemaker
In harmony with the Tao
The sky is clear and spacious
The Earth is solid and full
All creatures flourish together
Content with the way they are
Endlessly repeating themselves
Endless renewed.
When man interferes with the Tao,
The sky becomes filthy
The earth becomes depleted
The equilibrium crumbles
Creatures become extinct.
The Master views the parts with compassion
Because he understands the whole.
His constant practice is humility
He doesn’t glitter like a jewel
But lets himself be shaped by the Tao
As rugged and common as a stone.
– Lao Tzu
This was sent by the Brazilian flutist and saxophonist who played last Friday evening in Hudson, WI. He is the first of the artists to respond to the Call to create artists “Before the Planetary Requiem” in the face of scientific evidence for Climate Departure. “Before the Planetary Requiem” was posted here on Views from the Edge yesterday. Interesting that his response is from one of the ancient figures of holy and practical wisdom.
Earth is crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees
Takes off his shoes –
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Join the Call to Artists to take off your shoes before climate departure leaves us with no blackberries to pluck. Read yesterday’s post: Before the Planetary Requiem
If scientists are right (see Nature), by 2020 the first effects of Climate Departure should already be a part of the human experience.
In light of both science and faith, Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska, MN is issuing this invitation in anticipation of Earth Day, 2020, in hopes it will catch on. The Call is conceived by visual artist and scientist John Lince-Hopkins, a member of Shepherd of the Hill:
EARTH DAY
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
A GLOBAL CALL TO CREATIVE PEOPLE OF ALL TYPES TO CREATE, PERFORM, AND DISPLAY THEIR BEST WORKS:
COMPOSERS,
MUSICIANS,
MUSICAL GROUPS,
RECORDING ARTISTS,
AUTHORS,
POETS,
VISUAL ARTISTS,
PHOTOGRAPHERS,
VIDEOGRAPHERS,
FIBER ARTISTS,
PERFORMANCE ARTISTS,
DANCERS,
…AND THOSE UN-NAMED.
JUST SEVEN SHORT YEARS TO CREATE SEMINAL WORKS ABOUT THE STATE OF OUR PLANET AND OUR REALIZATION OF THE INEVITABLE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CLIMATE TO ALL LIVING THINGS AND THE ECOSYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT THEM.
Think Globally, Act Locally!
Views from the Edge 