2 under 3
John and Caroline
1 plus 1
equals 3
or more
when you
add a boy
and girl
to a young
couple both
who work
outside the
home as is
done today
you take him
and i take her
after day-care
after au pair
after nana
after nanny
we are so tired
there will never
be another
well maybe
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, April 27, 2014
the face and hands are grey
even under the pink
lights by the big casket
no life is in the lips
the eyes are not asleep
the hands will never move
he hid himself from us
as the cancer got worse
he had said goodbye
his voice i still can hear
his raspy laugh echoes
in my memory
I did not need to see
the artificial body
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, April 11, 2014
This Sunday is Palm Sunday when Christians celebrate “The Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem, which was anything but triumphant. The New Testament Gospels describe it differently, which has absorbed the concentrated attention of more than one scholar or preacher trying to reconcile their differences. Steve Shoemaker, in his inimitable way, engages the debate about whether Jesus rode on just one donkey or two.
Perpectives
Matthew alone tells of the two,
the mare & colt, who carried him
into Jerusalem that day.Since then many have mocked that view
as based more on an ancient hymn
than what an eye-witness would say.But whether one sees one or two
depends upon the point of view:
and all saw Jesus, by the way…
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, April 8, 2014
Too many people ask
Do you believe in God?
I ask only
Does God believe in you?
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, March 30, 2014
We stopped for lunch in Kentucky.
Over the years I’ve heard them all,
the jokes about being tall:
“How’s the weather? Basketball?”
But the waitress surprised me…
“You’re so tall, you make me feel
like a woodland creature,” she
said while looking up at me
from a height of five foot three.
A child once was original…
I’d gone to read poetry
to the first grade classes. They
sat on a red rug. Said she,
“Please, O please, don’t fall on me,
Mister Tree…”
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, March 30, 2014
Life is grim, dry, flat and grey:
…Make me laugh…
Comics are heroes to me:
…Make me laugh…
We all want to chuckle, play:
…Make me laugh…
Your antics, quips inspire me:
…Make me laugh!
I love being here with you:
…Make me laugh…
We can sing then we can dance:
…Make me laugh…
I would spend a year with you…
…Make me laugh!
We can bounce, bounce, bounce!
…Make me laugh, laugh, laugh!
-Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, March 27, 2014
Perhaps Steve had George Burns and Gracie Allen in mind.
The paint was a rich brown with tones
of red. The brush was wide and held
the paint along the nylon tips
without a drip.
The wood I painted had been done
before, but years ago, and not
done very well. The wood had split
exposing ugliness.
The wet paint spread and filled the holes.
The boards soon showed no trace of sin.
I woke, but forced myself to sleep
some more–to paint again.
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, March 15, 2014
The palms had been saved for 11 months,
then burned to ashes. Thin tapers all lay
like kindling near the Christ candle. Our mouths
moved silently reciting sins. Today
we wear a black plus on foreheads:
it means we have forgiven all of those
who sinned against us, and even ourselves.
We light a taper, place it in the sands
surrounding Christ, shifting under us.
We tell the skeptical that God forgives
them–they tell us the same absurd good news.
Our Pastor prays and lays upon our heads
a blessing undeserved. We leave this place
each marked by two crossed lines of dirty grace.
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, March 6, 2014
I will give up writing poems for Lent.
I will give up eating desserts for Lent.I will give up sex for Lent.
I will give up thinking about sex for Lent.
I will give up lying for Lent.
I will give up bragging for Lent.
I will give up exaggerating for Lent.
I will give up self-centeredness for Lent.
I will give up self-denial for Lent.
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, March 5, 2014 (Ash Wednesday)
Our wedding anniversary
was coming up. My card said, “Free
Pass: you can have one fantasy
night with Michael Jordon! I’ll pay
for the room myself. I can say
I will not have a jealous day.”
The year was 1993–
the three of us were in our prime.
The Bulls were going for a Three-
peat. She would lust for him each time
she saw him playing on TV.
I set the date for their big game…
Her ticket cost one hundred bills,
but she was with Chicago Bulls
and MJ in his shorts, it’s true–
with twenty thousand others, too.
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, Feb. 25, 2014
Views from the Edge 