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dreamprayact

~ Reflections of a preacher, poet, and contemplative activist

dreamprayact

Tag Archives: family

Where I’m From

21 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems, Reflections

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Enuma Okoro, family, George Ella Lyon, grace, grandparents, life experience, old rugged cross, Poetry, spiritual life, storytelling, Wendell Berry

Hay bales VA

Photo credit: Dallis Day Richardson

“If you don’t know where you’re from, you’ll have a hard time saying where you’re going.” This idea from Wendell Berry suggests that our personal and family roots are very illuminating in understanding our place in the world.

I did something recently that I haven’t done before. I read aloud some poems I have written to a group of women in our church who meet weekly to discuss books and support one another in the life of the Spirit. In their invitation to me they had made it clear that they wanted to get to know me better, so I read some poems I’ve written over the years that reveal where I’m from, specifically some about the people who have significantly shaped my life, especially my grandparents.

The first poem I read was based on a poem template that author and speaker Enuma Okoro provided to a large group of United Methodist clergy who were meeting together in September 2015. I just loved how Enuma (who, by the way, is a delightful person, and with whom I enjoyed a long conversation over breakfast one morning) invited this diverse group of Christian ministers to use a template she provided to write about themselves. Then, as people read aloud their poems, it was amazing to feel the sense of our shared humanity even in the midst of very different life experiences.

The original poem called “Where I’m From,” written by poet George Ella Lyon, has provided a framework for many others to explore how their own lives have been shaped by the people who were present at formative times in their lives.

Here’s my poem titled “Where I’m From.”

I am from hay bales and milk pails,
from Lincoln Logs and prairie dogs.
I am from the creaky two-story at the end of the alley in small town U.S.A.
From evergreen forests and snow-capped mountains.
I am from singing around the piano and staying out of the spotlight,
from Sarah and Gerard, Norval and Irene.
I am from hard work and private devotion.
From boys don’t cry and swallowed tears.
I am from camp meeting and the old rugged cross.
From Holland, England and Wales.
I am from canned ham and scalloped potatoes.
I am from tides that rise and fall, from partially cloudy skies
and the heart that wanders.
I am from cornfields and desert, from the islands and the long winding road.

There are stories to be told within each of the phrases in this poem, and that is the point. Our lives are stitched together by the many meaningful interactions and relationships we have with one another and the larger stories in which our lives reside.

You might want to write a poem for yourself called “Where I’m From.” If you do, I’d love to read it!

May you have grace for your journey, Mark

Words (c) 2015 Mark Lloyd Richardson

In Answer to Your Question

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

family, father-daughter bond, happy birthday, joy, key of A major, love, palindrome, Poetry, sweetness of life, yellow

Hannah and Me in San Francisco, 2007

Hannah and Me in San Francisco, 2007

In 2007, the year this photo was taken of my daughter Hannah and me, she asked me a simple question one day. So today, February 2, 2013, on her twenty-first birthday, I am sharing with you how I responded to her question that day:

In Answer to Your Question

You tossed your question deftly in the air
as we talked one evening:
“Will you write me a poem?”

I’ve been thinking about it, and
if I were to write you a poem,
it would be in the color of yellow, like sunshine
splashing playfully over a sea of ripe bananas.

Blooms_of_a_yellow_rose
I’d also plant a yellow rose in one of the lines
to symbolize the joy of seeing you blossom.

If I were to write a poem for you I would
put your favorite number 11 in it too — a number
with simple symmetry — like gothic columns
holding up a cathedral. In a happy coincidence,
your name is constructed in columns too …
H A N N A H
a palindrome of strength and grace,
the cathedral in which you live.

Mind you, these are just my initial thoughts, but
if I were to write you a poem it would probably be
in the key of A major, because that’s a joyful key
celebrating the sweetness of life and
offering wisps of hope for each new day.

You ask, “Will you write me a poem?”
Yes, my daughter, my little girl,
let me see what I can do.

Love, Dad

A Fallen Soldier

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Reflections

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Common good, eternal life, faith, family, hope, Military, patriotism, peace, sacrifice, United States Army, Veterans Day

Veterans Day is observed on November 11 each year as a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

I have known many veterans and have served as a military chaplain myself. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to all of our uniformed men and women who serve with honor, even as we continue to pray and work for a global community where conflicts and violence diminish and peace and prosperity prevail for all people.

Several years ago I was called to the bedside of a parishioner, retired U.S. Army Colonel Alphonso Topp. He had just died, surrounded by his loving wife and adult children. He was a career officer with an extraordinary military record, yet he was also a man of peace, a man of prayer, and a follower of Christ. He had a strong faith, and went to his grave with hope in the resurrection to eternal life.

As I reflected on his friendship and support I wrote this poem, which I shared at his memorial service.

This Veterans Day, take some time to remember and give thanks for the service and sacrifice of those wearing your country’s uniform.

A Fallen Soldier

His stature was unbowed even as his body
strained beneath the gravity of the years, even
as his legs faltered and refused to carry him.

Bravery is not enough in the end, nor is loyalty.
A man needs someone to care about, someone to
live beyond his appointed years and remember him.

It is the living who give testimony to the fallen—
who say he was the friend or the father I needed
when life cast its shadows over my dreams.

We mortals cannot know the day or the hour
when a soul shall gradually fold itself up
like the last tent on an abandoned battlefield.

The sun must finally set upon this life; then comes
a night of holy rest, the glow of dawn upon the hills,
and a bugle sounding forth a glorious new day.

Words (c) 2008, 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson

It’s tough being a dog

10 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

canine companionship, Dogs, family, Pomeranian, Psalms, zzzzzzzzzzzzz

It’s tough being a dog!

You have to stick close to your owner.

You have to be vigilant and protect her from harm.

You have to give her the feeling that she is never alone (that’s right, never).

You have to eat on a schedule and not complain if there’s ever a lack of culinary creativity.

You have to take your medicine (that’s right, you heard me).

And then there’s the incessant studying – study this, study that. Sometimes it’s a new recipe (always for human food, mind you). Other times it’s a difficult piece of choral music, or some magazine called O, or a challenging word game. It’s always something, believe me.

Yesterday, for example, my owner was reading the Psalms for a class at church, and I thought I’d help.

First, the strategic positioning in the center of the activity!

Then, well, I may as well get comfortable I suppose!

This is technically called the “osmosis learning system.”

Aahhhh, now to catch a few zzzzzzzzzzzzz in between pages!

Part of dog played by Sadie, the wonder Pomeranian.

Part of owner played by my beautiful wife Dallis.

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