NO PROBLEM
Wither shall I flee
From Thy presence?
present no problem
when one ignores
who owns
the sea
and the sky.
Thomas John Carlisle
You, Jonah!
COMING AROUND
And Jonah stalked
to his shaded seat
and waited for God
to come around
to his way of thinking.
And God is still waiting
for a host of Jonahs
in their comfortable houses
to come around
to His way of loving.
Thomas John Carlisle
You, Jonah!
REMAIN
Remain in me
that's what you say
The reality is few
choose to stay
The heart shares, sees
joys, sunrises, sorrow, pain
Shares each of these
with another that
leaves
And does not remain
What pulls the roots
What shifts the tide
What makes it impossible
to remain by your side
Weights of loss and
mirages of maybes
move a life, remove a life
Away from
where it once lived
and grew
and loved
Remain in me
is what you say
To be here
alone, never alone
is to begin
yet again
to remain
Jared Ray Mackey
HOLY GROUND
You are holy ground
Dust and fire
Shoeless, sacred
Burning, alive
You are holy ground
Rock and ladder
Sleeping, seeing
Believing, beginning
You are holy ground
Boat and fish
Drowning, praying
Preaching, fainting
You are holy ground
Waves and feet
Walking, trusting
Sinking, saving
You are holy ground
Jared Ray Mackey
I TOOK A LIFE TODAY
I took a life today.
I fantasized all summer about
Killing.
I took my anger
My rage
Beat out the life and
Breath.
As I rolled the corpse
I saw a stump
A squirrel
With three legs.
It was
Me
Broken
Trapped
Beaten.
It curled up
Peaceful as it fell
Off the shovel
Into the black
Of the garbage can.
Bitter cold hands
Numb from killing
Holding a cigarette.
No sun
Only gray
And dying
Today.
Jared Ray Mackey