at semester’s end

March is a fine-tuned tension
downpours threaten sunshine only minutes later
winter waits for one last curtain call
spring stumbles over newly memorized lines
I must walk a tightrope
of endings tactlessly running into new beginnings

do not ask me who God is

I am a poet and in some other age, a mystic
do not ask me who God is
if you are looking for answers of stone and mortar
I will give you a God of ghosts and metaphors
always appearing just over the next horizon
or inside the deepest pockets of your own soul

I am a woman and in some other age, a witch
do not ask me who God is
if you are looking for the dividing line between fact and fiction
but if you are willing to weave abbey ruins with stars
I will tell you that God is the music of legends
a darkness that burns your eyes with love

International Women’s Day Synchroblog

I’m reposting this poem today in honour of International Women’s Day and as part of the synchroblog on biblical women that Julie Clawson has organized.

Bathsheba
your silence screams at me tonight
as though begging to be given a voice
your betrayal stands in stark contrast
to the brief facts listed under your name
as though your thoughts were unimportant
unnecessary to a history of kings
you weren’t the first
and how many thousands came after you
not even mentioned
the injustice done to them forgotten
worse, condoned
worse yet, justified
the fault their own for being beautiful
did your mother curse God
when she saw your face
did she know it would kill your husband and your son
your body suddenly a battleground
did you blame yourself
because the king could do no wrong
or did you live with anger
burning just below the surface
if I gave you voice
what would you say?

Here are a few of the posts in this synchroblog:
Julie Clawson on The God Who Sees
Kathy Escobar on standing up for the nameless and voiceless women
Eugene Cho on Lydia
Pam Hogeweide on the secret weapon of teenage girls

If you’re interested you can find a longer list of links here.