Church of The Apostles (COTA) DEC. 19TH Advent poem

     I know it is Christmas Day and everyone is with their families and loved ones, but I wanted to make sure that I put up my Advent poem that I wrote for COTA for Dec. 19th, 2010.  I was so honored to be asked to do so by Abbess Karen Ward.  It was a new experience for me.  Such a challenge! To read a passage from the Bible and then allow it to inspire forth poetry.  Which of course others have done many times over.  But it was new for me.  So, of course, I had to pray on it.
     I had a scribbled collection of cross-referenced notes that could have gone on for days. I could not believe that I was able to pull it all together in time.  BUT THEN! Of course, my printer was out of ink.  So my computer and myself went to the advent service.  Everything all worked out in time thank God.  Below is the passage and the poem.  Please feel free to comment and give me input.

Advent Dec. 19th COTA

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,"

which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Advent

By Ieisha McIntyre

We are all players in dreams

of our own creation.

Dreams rooted--

in our limited human perception,

spun from our limited expectations,

maintained--

through social condition.  

We walk through our mutually sustained worlds

holding up the walls

with our bias.

Prejudice as our mortar,

we maintain the integrity, 

Use tradition, and historical context as our decorative plaster. 

But they are just walls 

and we are still dreamers.

Dreamer, know this,

When kissed by the call to awaken -- 

The vision that is life can become

a seeming nightmare;

a conflicting reality that tortures

a mind desirous

of a status quo existence. 

A call that insists we

Release the dreams we clutch to,

cling to, blind ourselves with;

In resistance, we stop up the passages of our ears, 

Barricade the doors of our imagination

with the expectations of others--

All, to deny ourselves the call.  

Of course we question -- But, 

The reality may be a hurdle worth jumping. 

The storm a torrent worth braving.

We must open our eyes to see.

Yet, A dreamer interrupted can never return

to the previous pulse--

there is always the arrhythmia

of an interrupted dream.

Consider--

Forced slumber makes convict

those with outmoded dreams.

Trained expectations become chains;

Rules of thought the inquisitor.

We fear, we cringe and

cower at the freedom given to us. 

We see awakening as the prison.  

We realize we have been people in a dream. 

And we listen to the call -- suspicious.

The choice is ever present; And, should we choose

we listen, 

we move

beyond the walls and

act on faith.

One must trust in the unseen--

the untested--

the undreamed of-- 

trust that the new reality will not release upon

the dreamer an unmanageable hell.

The Word invites awakening. 

-- to experience divine interruption, 

to have our dream world invaded and gifted

with new life direction.

Awaken. 

The new direction is more than we could ever dream,

The invitation is there in The Word.

And, the Choice 

ever present.

All Rights Reserved (c) 2010

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

S.W.I.N.K: A WORD OTHER THAN SPINSTER

From Spinster to SWINKY SWANK!

Hello world! I have long introduced myself as a “spinster.” Whether subconscious or not, I know that is what I’ve done. I never wanted to use the word “spinster.” But now, well past 30, I’ve had to confess that in the past I’ve more often than not fit the definition of a spinster.  I’ve let that go, but there was just no historical way of getting around the word.  I’ve thought and prayed and thought so more and here is my gift to you all the single women out there who are single, sexy, haven’t found a partner or just plain aren’t interested in handing over their independence.  I am no longer a spinster! And neither are you!  I’m a S.W.I.N.K who is S.W.I.N.K.Y.  and when need be, I’ve got some S.W.A.N.K to me as well.  HOLLAH! Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!!

S.W.I.N.K = SINGLE, WOMAN, INDEPENDENT,NO, KIDS

S.W.I.N.K.Y= SINGLE, WOMAN, INDEPENDENT, NO, KIDS, YOUTHFUL

S.W.A.N.K = SINGLE, WOMAN, ASSERTIVE, NO, KIDS

* and if you want to be S.W.A.N.K.Y just add the youthful nature to it.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.