We continue our weekly series of poetry that resonates with the lectionary readings for the week (Revised Common Lectionary and Narrative Lectionary).
*** Revised Common Lectionary ***
Lectionary Reading:
Isaiah 2:1-5
CLASSIC POEM:
The Mountain
Emily Dickinson
The mountain sat upon the plain
In his eternal chair,
His observation omnifold,
His inquest everywhere.
The seasons prayed around his knees,
Like children round a sire:
Grandfather of the days is he,
Of dawn the ancestor.
*** This poem is in the public domain,
and may be read in a live-streamed worship service.
CONTEMPORARY POEM:
New Jerusalem
Tania Runyan
Alpha, Omega: it makes no difference.
The heavenly city of God has come down.
He makes his dwelling place
in the muddy corner of your garage,
the oncologist’s office,
the space between paper and pen.
Run your fingers along the foundation walls
studded with onyx and topaz.
Bask in the jasper.
Hear the gate-squeak of pearl on gold.
Pain and tears will pass away,
but for now he bedazzles
your blisters and tissue,
saline and nerve,
somehow—do you believe it?—
the neck of a kneeling man
about to lose his head to the sand.
He prays for water, just one last
drink. The sword lifts,
then springs bubble up in the dark.
Copyright © 2018 by Tania Runyan
Used by permission of Paraclete Press
www.paracletepress.com
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