A half a century ago
my character yelled:
“I’m responsible!”
on stage.
I’m not certain that,
back then,
I knew what the phrase meant:
“I’m responsible!”
Now, decades past,
I understand that,
at my core,
I’m responsible.
It’s silly to blame
anyone else
for anything bad
in my life,
because it’s all good,
as long as
I think it is
and want it to be.
I’m responsilbe
for that.
I must be always/
positive, and give peace on/
earth, good will to all.
— The backstory for this poem was my take on Longfellow’s poem “I heard the Bells”, and also a haiku inspired by a prose piece Kate Phillips wrote. You can read it here.
When we feel God’s Grace
and Spirit, let’s marinate
in it a minute.
When folks keep you down/
in your pre-miracle phase,/
look to God and live.
We live on Death’s Creek
where folks get sick. Should we leave?
Or work to heal it?
I’m certain there is
much to say,
deep thoughts to share,
intelligent insights to expose
and uncover.
Right now,
I don’t know what they are,
I don’t know where they are,
and I don’t know
if I want to even find them.