poems

trying to remember why I quit
just put it away one day
and forgot about it until now
but this is nothing new
I-ve done it thousands of times
and the days happen without notice
and a month expires and a year later
the Bible still sits on the shelf
do wish I was more consistent
perhaps a few mornings passages
but I hate the person I become
when my devotion deforms into habit

walk down the street
pick up groceries
hit an early showing
get into the bookstore
buy some birdseed
grab a cup of coffee
find a sandwich shop
head back to the house
kiss my wife on the lips
watch the five o’clock news
tune into some really good jazz
a quick shower before bed
one chapter to put me to sleep

Sundays are good to me now
never knew what I was missing

I hear too many church people
talk about having faith
but they drive new Cadillacs
with full tanks of gas and eat
lunch in downtown cafes

waking in perfect health
next to your darling
to go to a job you love
that keeps your bank accounts
in the black
sounds suspiciously like…
something else.

you don-t need faith
if the lights come on
after flicking the switch
or if your children rest
comfortably in their beds
at night

in my experience

faith is barreling down
the interstate
at eighty-five miles per hour
without the brakes
in a car barely clinging
to its metal

it-s giving up
your wristwatch
to the offering plate
because the money is gone
and you have no other
sacrifice for the Lord

so don-t talk to me about faith
until you have tangled with tigers
and bear-hugged a grizzly enough
to leave a few scars on your souls

I-ll listen to a man
talk about faith
when it is evident
that faith is
all he has