Tag: Faith

Somewhere Between Lamentations and The Psalms

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 9 Comments

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Somewhere Between Lamentations and The Pslams

I am dancing between the pages
Of Lamentations
More of a slow forced march
I would rather laugh
Like a crow, turned toward the sky
At the sun pouring in
At the squirrel on his high wire act
At bird chasing a cat
And a dog chasing his tail.

But I am in the pages of weeping
Where the heart plays the re-runs
And the soul forgets the grace
And mercy drips from the faucet
Like summer’s drought.

I know there are pages to turn
And the fingers are quick
But the heart is slow

To find itself in the
Pages of rejoicing

But when I recall
The chapters of joy
Highlighted and hope
And a three year girl
Who called them P saums


Then I am in the pages
The ones filled with the love
Of Christ
The wiper of tears
And today they are mine

Joining my beauty seeking friend Laura and on Thursday with Lyli.

Still, I Go

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 3 Comments

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Still I Go

Though tired
Or held
Suspended, frozen in
Mid air
Because of You I go

Though mired
In the madness
Afraid or all
Alone
Because of Grace I go

Though filled with an uncertainty
Whose root is still
Unknown
Buoyed by Mercy’s sweet, soulful song
Because of Hope I go

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joining my friend Sandy for Still Saturday

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The Neighbor

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 1 Comment

The Neighbor

In cryptic cursive he penned
words of gratitude
my cold heart
wondered at the knock
hid behind
unknowing
shameful
that
on a cold and wintry day

I should wonder what he wants
when all he brought
was his  small note
an offering
and laid it by the door

words of thankfulness
I sit
with guilted
pain
ashamed
that I  would rest in vain
repose
frozen
slow to do the same
pen a note of telling
how it is I feel
black pen on gilded cards
left staring at a
hand that cannot write
a few short lines of humble
thanks
I learned from him
the neighbor sent to me
with a shaky cursive hand
still fresh from loss and grief
who poured
into a 2×3
sincerity
this kind response sat at my door
one day when I was covered up in grief

who taught him how to love the sky
at night, I found him staring
at it ablaze, in oranges and reds
I’ve seen him smile and stare
gazing heavenward
awash in grief
I weep at my
ingratitude
oh January finds me
in desperate need
to write a letter
release it from my cold and thankless heart
and had he used the mailbox
rather than my door
I might have missed the chance to
be shaken
by a simple act

I heard the screen open
then
slam and hit the door
awakened by my
neighbor
the neighbor
in cryptic cursive, he penned
words of gratitude.

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Letting Go: Releasing Our Art Into The World

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 4 Comments

Letting Go

Go poem,
Words, go
Whether it be early or late
Or timed with perfection
You were born in a heart of passion
Raised up to be released
Born of the seed of God gift
Never formed for staying put.

Go art,
Poems, go
Go make your home in a heart
That weeps for encouragement
Cries for beauty, is starved for it
Longs for healing in a wounded place
Land and light and harbor in
The refuge of another’s sight.

Go lines
Art, go
Go and make your way through dark and lonely
Streets and hopeless hearts
Spark a flame, fuel it, fan it
Heat the cold and frozen places
Be a word that thaws
The soul, the frigid place within another’s heart.

Art,
be what you were called to be.
and be it away from me.

Fly on the wings of dove, in peace
And great horned owl, so wise
Hitch a ride on strong brown pelican
Strap yourself to wings of  great blue heron.

Go in peace
to the place
You
Were meant
To call your new

Home.

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Joining friend Jennifer Lee today

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