what is grace?

grace is in my cell phone.

>>i hope you sleep well. God is in control. sermons are being preached. i hope i pay attention. Peace be with you...


<<Thanks. I hope I her them. Peace to you too

>>you are in the middle of your sermon...and it's going very well. bless you.




grace is at my job, in my classroom

do you need me to bring in lesson plans?
i came to give you a hug
you get a visit today
smiles and smiles and hands and hugs

grace is in my students, in their eyes and hands and words

you have the support of 7th period
i'm going to hug you know
i love you in a non-creepy way
you have to smile when you know he'll be okay, really
sorry about your friend
you just keep going and keep your head up, because if you don't smile, you can't do anything


grace is on Facebook, in my ears, touching my shoulder

grace is sitting with me on the beach
listening to the ocean weep

what is grief?

Grief is not to be found in a dictionary, but in snapshots.
It looks like eyes--eyes closed, eyes open, eyes hidden.

Grief is being afraid to sleep because dreams are so frail and uncontrolled;
you could see anything there.

Grief is being afraid to sleep because it means admitting
you've been awake, that it was real.

Grief is showering because it is something to do.

Grief is made up of hours slipping by in seconds that pass like days.

There are less tears in grief than blank stares.

Grief is not a lack of beauty, but a sole appreciation
for some beauty that is fleeting, a narrow gaze fixed
on that one point, taking  joy from nothing else.

The worst part?

Grief is knowing that worst is still to come.

Where God is.

I. Verse

where is god?
on first and amistad?

where is god?
"god is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress..."
where is god when the battle's already lost?
or when no one wants to fight at all?
does god take sides?

where is god?
"our god is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him."
what if it pleases no one else?
is it wrong to be displeased?
is heaven far away?

where is god?
"god is in heaven, and you are on earth, so let your words be few."
i'm looking for god.
i have plenty to say, but no words anyway.

where is god?
"the law of god is in their hearts; their feet do not slip."
what law? whose hearts?
i slip all the time.

II. Song

where is god?

"god is in this place."
where can i find this place?
is it green and lush, or
clean and plush?
is it simple and plain, or
are the windows stained?

"god is in the radio"
i guess so...

"god is in the roses and the thorns"
what about dandelions or tulips
or poison ivy or the vines that climb
and swallow the lightposts?

"god is in the room when she looks at me"
who is this imaginary girl?
what does she know that she won't share?
does she love you?

"god is in it"--what?
"god is in the house"--whose house?
"god is in control"-- i suppose i know.

god is most everywhere according to
billy jonas.
not the microwave sometimes.
might be into leather.
"god in the child's eyes, see them wide, wondrous, wise."

why is god not in the song i want to sing?



III. Punctuation

god is in the single dot. the full stop.
even eternity must have paused
to catch her breath in bethlehem,
on calvary, in that hospital room with me.

god is in the comma, and god is
like outstretched hands, connecting
or a long pause, gasping.

god is in the exclamation's shout!
the anger, the fervor, the wonder!

god could be in the colon:
the answer.

god is in the semi-colon; god
joins what would remain apart.

is god in the question mark?
is the curve and unoffensive dot
the mark of the fall of a former
zealot?
is it my downfall, my lack of faith?
or is it the curve of god's embrace?

IV. Places

god may be here, maybe near.
god may be trapped within closed pages, or
flung far across the stars and spaces.

god may be in a child's face,
even when that smile is screwed in place

god may be in the jungle's leaves
the city's sleeves.

god may be in the resting place or
the runner's pace.

god may be in the IV line, the glass of wine.
god is in my last glimpse of grace.