This Body Holy

This poem has had roughly 155 different titles...but I think this is the one I like. For today, anyway. CN: sexual assault This Body Holy When women lament their stomachs, their thighs, their arms, their right big toe – this body rises, indignant. This body balks at diet plans. She will not discuss weight loss...

Beautiful and Precious: Living in the details

As part of my coursework for seminary, I am required to volunteer 8 hours a week with a local non-profit organization. This site is supposed to take me out of my comfort zone, to lead me to deeper theological reflection, and to spark conversation about my future ministry. Since September, I have been volunteering at...

Hunger

The heart of this poem has been in my head for a while. It finally fell onto paper tonight, thank goodness, because I was about to give up. I'm struggling with this idea of how to keep showing up when there is so very much and it can be so very tiring. I've been struggling...

Praise Song, December 31, 2018

I'm not actually convinced this poem lands the way I want it to.  It's complicated.  I'm not going to explain it, because that feels a little like explaining a joke (in that it ruins it, not that the poem is funny/has a punchline). Oy vey. Anyway. I'm just going to do the thing. Praise Song,...

Outline on the History of Women

Title: Female rage, or Why women are angry. Acknowledgements: The author would like to acknowledge the change she has not yet seen and the perspective she does not have. Dedication: There are so many people to thank for getting us to this point and so many still holding us back. Introduction: We ask, rhetorically, how...

I don’t know how to do this

I don’t know how to do this. I pretend I do. I pretend I have wise, beautiful, profound things to say. I organize and re-organize and re-organize my life.  I go to work. I pour my energy into the ways I extend my hands to others. I volunteer at the homeless shelter and make the...

The ways through it

For all the survivors out there: I see you.  I hear you.  I am here for and with you.  These are the ways through it.  ❤ The ways through it These are the ways through it: Imagine your body a tower. Your blood is mortar, your bones turn brick, you render yourself impenetrable. A fortress...

Holy Doubt, Holy Faith, Holy Shit

I recently changed the lock screen on my phone to a graphic that says: “You are a ghost driving a meat-coated skeleton made from star dust riding a rock floating through space. FEAR NOTHING.” I don't know why this tickled me so much. Maybe it’s because it makes my too-big fear feel small and inconsequential....

Hallelujah for the Discomfort

I wrote this poem a long time ago (like 3 years!), but read it today at a church service.  As I prepared for today, these words stuck out and have stayed with me: "there are so many layers to stepping in, but Brave is just what we call Scared when she's holding hands. So let's...

Breathing into grace: Random thoughts on self-care

Lately, I’ve had a lot of conversations about self-care.  I’ve been trying – hard - to revolutionize my whole idea of what self-care feels like, what it looks like, and how I feel about it.  This is work, people.  Hard work. Popular media would have us believe self-care is about treating ourselves: shopping, long baths...