when you sit on a garden bench
with the Friend
hands intertwined in the evening light
no words are necessary

being human

so we don’t talk
and then we think
that not talking
just means we’re
comfortable

so we say
“but, I’ll be fine”
and try to ignore
that it won’t be fine
at least, not for a long
time

so we close our eyes
pretend that being human
isn’t as hard
as we know
it really is

a creed for the moment

I have set my mind free
given myself permission to turn away
allowed my heart the silence it craved

I have given up a voice I thought was truth
have learned to speak a different language
careful and quick to love paradox

the path is set before me
I walk with joy, with confidence
even though I walk alone

A Marriage Blessing

dedicated to Ron and Erika

May you treasure the light each of you carry,
a shield against isolation and loneliness.

May you hold sacred the individuality
and independence of your loved one.

May you love and honour your differences,
celebrate and rejoice in your similarities
and invest time and effort in creating wholeness and solidarity.

May your circle of family and friends surround
you with strength, compassion, and friendship.

May you always uncover the root of difficulties
and may that root always be overcome
with the humility and forgiveness of true love.

May you discover each other again and again,
seeing with new eyes the beauty
you saw in each other in the first few days.

May your love grow, like roots,
deeper and wider with each new transition,
rooting you firmly in the earth, in each other.

May your marriage always be characterized by freedom, hope and trust.

I come home

I come home to
the “I Capture the Castle” soundtrack
cry all the tears I didn’t cry this week
in the first song
the joy and gratitude
too much for my heart

I come home to
the bits and pieces of wisdom
still making their rounds
through my head
Dr. Seuss and Julian of Norwich
both reminding me that all shall be well

I come home to
the safety of a God
who doesn’t use many words
isn’t afraid of a little darkness
a God I don’t have to perform for
will never have to prove myself to

I come home
to quiet
to solitude
to beauty

hope

there is poetry
in the veins of leaves
there is music
in the swish of your cat’s tail
there is magic
in the smell of sweet roiboos tea

there is enough
there is wholeness
there is enough

Generate

Hey Everyone,

For the emergent minded among you, a new magazine is being launched called Generate . They are currently offering a great rate on a subscription to the first four issues. Generate is run entirely by volunteers, so this is a great way to support them in supporting the arts. You’ll find me in the inaugural issue coming out in October!

Enjoy!

Jess

suffering

*for my family

I hold the pain of the world
in these two hands
balance the groans of organs and bones
with the unspoken fears
of minds lost in thick cloud

I carry the sorrow of the healthy
between these shoulder blades
anger at the cruelty and confusion of the universe
the hollow grief of futility

I cradle the hope of beauty in chaos
in the chambers of my heart
and my blood carries a measure of peace
to heavy hands
tired shoulders

Sunday morning with starfish and ships

careful waves find their way to the dock
my feet hover just over the surface
dipping one toe, then another
minnows are dancing country reels
over to the left
beyond them the anchored ships are calm
as though listening in church
the breeze is just cool enough
for a hint of goosebumps

a large pink starfish and I sing songs to the sun.

superstition

its true that the universe
knows all the answers
the hard part is being still
enough to hear them

the lines of my life
will give up their secrets
I am both predestined
and Creator
the writing on the wall is
etched in the palm of my hands