SC Faith Forum Poetry January 12 2025

Here are links to the poems I read today at the South Church Faith Forum:

Church Hour

We Are All Falling

Two Poems Inspired by the Poetry of Matt W. Miller

The Fifth Hexagram: Waiting Is

Play On

Ozymandias In Reverse

Stay Gentle - Brandi Carlile lyrics - substack link 

If you'd like to get these and more in a book form, it's available on Amazon, in a collection that came out in this updated form in 2022: 

Almost Whole: New and Selected Poems (amazon link) 

The newer ones are also on my substack: Mark's LocalPoet Substack

I finished with this poem below, The Advocate. 

This was written back in 1986!

Thanks to everyone for giving me a chance to share these poems. It was a wonderful discussion, a wonderful time talking about poetry and the connections we find in it.

Peace.

The Advocate

When love speaks
It pushes aside harder thoughts
With a soft insistent voice
 
It tells me to listen through the din
To what I’m missing
The quiet cause
That has no lobby
Petitioning for action in its name
Sometimes without ally
 
Years go by unheard
It still speaks to me when I go wrong
 
When love speaks
It teaches me again and again
This forever unfinished lesson
How to be kind
 
1986 West Newton, Mass.

Ozymandias In Reverse

Ozymandias In Reverse

Long ago, we stood in this antique land.

Back when the land was young,

we gazed upon the stones, so many to see.

We tread upon their form,

so many about this land, so many under our feet.

We looked as far as we could see,

to the horizon, then not so far,

back when time was young.

Did we wonder at what would be?

These are the stones that remain.
These are not the stones
selected by the builder.
These are the stones
that time could not take away.
Tell me what’s of value,
and now we all say these stones, yes these.
Don’t you see?
These stones make the great tower that’s here.
And today we all say,
look how far we can see from these heights!

But we can’t see far enough 
to know how this tower came to be.
We can’t see far enough 
to know how these stones came to be.
The stones and tower we see
were here all along.
Everything else that couldn’t stand
the tests and trials of time
was taken away.
These are the greater.
The lesser is gone. 

These are the stones that remain.
Where they are
is not where they were placed.
This is the tower that remains.
Where it stands 
is not where it was built.
How can this be?

The hand of another builder
made these, made this.
The eye of another builder
placed these, placed this.
With awful might
this work was raised for us.
Do we know what we’ve been given?

Long ago we walked along these ramparts,
reached them with an easy step.
Only time made their height known to us.
What else don’t we know?

August 2014  North Andover, Mass

Play On (Poem)

Play On

Am I willing to be open today
Naked to the world
Standing here as I am
Where – that’s all I have – is enough
Am I willing

Am I willing to be hurt again
Yet another day
Am I willing to be naked on this stage
Oh those slings and arrows
Of easy and quick misunderstanding
And so much worse
That we all throw at one another
Built into our existence
Our outrageous fortune
Not our true intent with one another
But there
But there

Am I willing to not be the same
To get past the simple game 
To act with love, to play the higher game
But either way
I’m in the play 

Am I willing to offer a flower in my hand
But, hah, I’m a man
A warrior, now with a flower in his hand!

Wait, see what’s here
The bud of this flower is in every moment
Inside is the message of this hour
I want to open it

Am I willing to be open today
Am I willing to stand on this stage
Am I willing to stand here as I am
To still be strong 
And to play on

June 2014 North Andover, Mass.

The Fifth Hexagram: Waiting Is

The Fifth Hexagram: Waiting Is

Enter the soft word.
The best is assumed today.
The mouth opens with hope.
The mouth does not speak.
The eyes open today.
The eyes open even in the smoke and dust.
The eyes open but do not speak.
Do not want.
Do not have.
Emptiness is. 
Opportunity is.
The 5th Hexagram is.
Open then not is.
Open then not is.
Whole at the bottom is.
The empty waters over heaven is.
Opportunity is.
Waiting is.
Assume best intent without moving.
Use your soft word today.
The eyes open today.
The Fifth Hexagram is.
Waiting is. 

September 2019  North Andover, Mass. 

Two Poems Inspired by the poetry of Matt W. Miller

Two Poems Inspired by the poetry of Matt W. Miller and his book "Tender the River": 

words conjuring words

percussive concussive words
words exhaled words exhorted 
words woven with sweet sweat 
wild words mouthed with a vow
say it 
say it in one breath
say it while breathing it all in
say it swearing gritty dusty bloody
with gravel on your hands
after another messy fall
pick yourself up
now grab the pen
say it


words cut both ways

an old wound of mine
carefully forgotten
you found the scar
left by words of another 
an old wound of mine
where I avoid the touch
no wish to recall 
today your words remember
that pain where the skin was cut
that memory and the scar
where I pull away
your words now touching
touching gently on the wound
an old pain felt 
this time touching
gently touching
your gift of words

January 2025  North Andover

We Are All Falling (Poem)

We Are All Falling

This I found
The best poems start
With a feeling of falling
Whether I write or read
The same is true
The bottom drops out
And I go through
Hopefully
The poem will catch the fall
I find that falling is a good place to start

What if you’re already falling?
Before the poem starts
What then?
I’m falling all the time now
I don’t know what to do

We think of the future
As a place we step into
As a door we walk through
We walk forward, with confidence

I’m afraid
We don’t move forward
A trap door opens instead 
A door in the floor
We fall
From one minute to the next
So used to it
The fall feels like life
Every minute
Whether we stand or walk
We are falling into the future
What can we do?

Here’s what they say
Don’t look down
Just don’t look
Here’s what I say
Fear not
Jump

June 2020   North Andover, Mass.