Today, this is my 100th post! What fun I have had week after week pondering which poem to select. Some weeks of course have been much harder than others and all along the way I have tried to keep my eyes and ears open to the ever enlarging volume of poetry. From old favorites, T.S. Eliot and R.S. Thomas to new voices such as Gregory Djanikian and Ilya Kaminsky. However, the freshest voice upon this poetic landscape is the voice of Amanda Gorman. Her words hold truth and beauty. Her words call us to our senses and move us to become engaged in affirming in word and action, human worth and dignity, truth and love. I am so excited to be able to share and feast on two of Gorman’s poems, any more would just be too much to take in, better leave them for another day and may that day come soon. I have included a link to Gorman’s words to the nation at President Biden’s inauguration “The Hill We Climb” please turn and listen to it often. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ055ilIiN4
I am sharing two short poems and I will offer no comment, they speak for themselves. Please do take all the time you can give to these words. My sense is that we will be the better together because we have taken her words to heart.
Every Day We Are Learning
Every day we are learning
How to live with essence, not ease.
How to move with haste, never hate.
How to leave this pain that is beyond us
Behind us.
Just like a skill or an art,
We cannot possess hope without practicing it.
It is the most fundamental craft we demand of ourselves.
LIFE
Life is not what is promised,
But what is sought.
These bones, not what is found,
But what we’ve fought.
Our truth, not what we said,
But what we thought.
Our lesson, all we have taken
& all we have brought.
Prayer:
Holy God,
from earliest days
there have been prophets in the land.
Often we have marveled at their words
but more often we have forgotten.
Continue to stir our hearts and souls
as prophets continue to walk among us.
Help us to discern prophets of truth from prophets of fear.
Often we have confused or refused to hear the compelling truth
opting instead for affirmation of our prejudices.
Holy God,
forgive us,
awaken us,
renew us,
be with us. Amen.
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 
Congratulations on 100 posts and thank you for the ongoing gift your blog has become! It seems very fitting to honor this milestone with the words of Amanda Gorman who expresses what I see as a perfect combination of youthful optimism and mature wisdom.
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