Finding Common Ground

The death of Congressman John Lewis, bring a reflection of the intense turmoil  he lived through during the Civil Rights era. The struggle for respect and equality still goes on sixty years later.  As I look at the division that still remains, I realize it will not be resolved  without God’s love changing our hearts allowing us to live together in peace.

Some views are shotguns blasting away

Others sling shots pelting against the gate.

Let’s have a conversation they say…

Come together // find common ground

Solve our differences together.

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How does that happen with shotgun politics

and sling shot twitter, that couldn’t hit a brick wall.

When our view is the only right view,

Each conversation become one of persuasion or condemnation…

A ticket to ride our train non stop to our destination.

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Legislated change without heart change, brings little hope.

History keeps repeating with every rotation.

Change comes with give and take // listening and hearing

Appreciating uniqueness // instead of condemning it.

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Only a revolution of the heart will bring peace from division.

Perhaps, “love your neighbor as yourself”

are words that could make our world a better place…

Opening the door to finding common ground…

Bringing the “Hope and Change” we really need.

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Here is a favorite song from the Folk era by the Youngbloods called Let’s Get Together

Perhaps what is missing in this generation is the truth in Folk Music… Music that brought people together!

A Needed Reminder

God loves His children

Message needed for our world

Love is colorblind

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Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

Saturday’s Silence

My sister shared this with me today.  The sun is bright, the air fresh. We are alive and well, grateful to be safe at home. I share this photo and words from the Corrymeela Community in Belfast:

God of grieving,
God of silence,
there is a strange gift in having time,
one whole day this holy week,
to sit with questions of why
and how long
and to hear no response at all.
To rush from Friday to Sunday,
from death to resurrection,
wouldn’t do either justice.
Nor would it dignify the life
of those whose daily pain and grief
and constant pleas for justice
go unanswered in the world’s daily rhythm.
Let your silence fill this silence,
until our empty noise dies out.

Corrymeela Community is a non-profit organization in Northern Ireland dedicated to help bring healing to those who were traumatized by the many years of conflict and violence  that occurred there between Catholic and Protestant factions.

https://www.corrymeela.org   

Holy Week

We enter this holy week together
Christians and Jews recall God’s protection
Stories of hope and love for each other

Faith strained in the midst of dark hopelessness
Prayers rise and lift us beyond our distress

As we see the Sun/Son rise hope is renewed
New life is ours on the path now pursued

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse Frank Hubney asked us to write a seven line Chaucerian poem. It is in iambic pentameter and has a pattern of ABA BB CC. Hopefully this is close to the real thing!

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Call to Prayer

Why do we wait till crisis comes
When fear sets in and the body grows numb
To raise our hearts and voice in prayer
Calling to God // now made aware

And why do we think our begging and pleading
Will now be heard by Almighty God’s heeding
As folks are dying and we are reeling
Our invincible life precariously careening

Prayer is not the magic wand // making all serene
Nor the serpent on the pole to look upon for healing
God is not simply at your beck and call
Now that you have need and life’s about to fall

Crisis makes all aware that God has always been there
From everlasting to everlasting // though we never gave a care
Prayer does not bring OUR answers in time of despair
But rather strength and endurance to face all that’s there

So weep not for the grateful dead now no longer in pain
Rather weep for the soul who’s life has not yet waned
And for healthcare workers in the midst of crashing towers
Who find strength to help others in their final hours

Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Posting this for d’Verse open link night…

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Unmovable Rock

Spring is all around us, spreading pollen as leaves and flowers flourish. The joy of springtime is not inhibited by human crisis! Rocks remind us that what is solid is unmoved. As we lift prayers and hope for those working on the front lines of the Coronavirus, we must remember that the words on our coins are not just a nice saying, but rather the solid rock of our faith… In God We Trust!

Beauty rises high

above all // glorious Spring

Rocks remain solid

*****

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

 

The Potter’s Love

Hands smoothing and shaping
Admiring sweet creation
Perfect in every form
No need to recreate
Feeling soft clay
Thin smooth as silk
Watching clay spin on the wheel
Hands reshaping and restoring
Feeling the rounded curves
Knowing how beautiful the finished product
As the light from the window glances off
Recreating every line in his mind
Feeling the rhythm of the spinning wheel
Slowing down speeding up
As the slip slides through his fingers
The wheel finally reaches its peak
A final smoothing of the hand
From top to bottom
The original potter really did
Know what he was doing
You are a unique creation

Bing Photo: justinrossow.com

 

Reincarnation of Spirit

Passing on Kindness and Love should be the goal of every parent. In a world where issues seem to divide us, let us pass on the light of God’s love.

As one body dies one is born
Rekindling the spirit within.
The cycle never ceases to go on
Passing on the light of God to our children.
Some choose to pass on evil and hate
The infection spreads like the flu.
But even this infection you can abate
When the love of God is within you.
As we live our lives from day to day
Let God’s light dwell in your soul.
Knowing this world will be a better place
If you shed all that hate and turmoil.
Think about what you pass on to your children
Is it love or divisive hate?
What spirit will be reincarnated from you//
Think carefully before it’s too late.

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Photo: Dwight L. Roth

What Sustains Me

Is it knowledge and understanding that keeps me strong
Or perhaps the intellectual freedom
To pursue my thoughts and expand my mind
Some say knowledge is truth and nothing more
But for me it is faith that sustains me

For most of us perspective is truth
Those things we heard from our mother’s knee
The sermons preached from the Holy Book
Or perhaps the trauma and turmoil of life
Eats and gnaws its truth into our soul
But for me faith is what sustains me

Many believe they have a handle on truth
And all others are wrong who disagree
How small heaven must be
How few there must be who find the way
But for me my faith sustains me

To believe in God’s unfailing Love
Beyond knowledge and understanding
To see that Word made flesh in human form
Sharing His love all around me
It may be truth or it may be perspective
But for me it is this faith that sustains me.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Passing it on…

As one body dies one is born
Rekindling the spirit within.
The cycle never ceases to go on
Passing on the light of God to our kin.
Some choose to pass on evil and hate
The infection spreads like the flu.
But even this infection you can abate
When the love of God is within you.
As we live our lives from day to day
Let God’s light dwell in your soul.
Knowing this world will be a better place
If you shed all that hate and turmoil.
Think about what you pass on to your children
Is it love or divisive hate?
What spirit will be reincarnated from you//
Think carefully before it’s too late.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth