Poet, Author, Composer....
Whosoever
Here’s #4 in the PAD Challenge—ANN
Whosoever
who in the world
who is the answer
who does something
so much brokenness
so much terror
so much paralysis
ever among us
ever around us
ever within us
whosoever is called
by one
who said
whatsoever you do
to the least
you do to me
whosoever
is
me
—————
Triangle Tri-Cube
Here’s #3 in the PAD Challenge I’m participating in—ANN
Triangle Tri-Cube
love your God
mind—strength—heart
and follow
love others
friend and foe
just as you—
love your self
forgiving
loving deep
—————
The Clown
Here’s Number 2 in the PAD Challenge that I’m participating in.—ANN
The Clown
I’ve never been a bouncy clown
bright – but not bouncy
disheveled orange hair
orange polkadot clownsuit
and big red galumphey shoes
but not bouncy
I’m a silent clown
and gentle
I carry Josa with me
she’s a sea otter
most people like to pet her
‘cause she’s soft
and a little shy
I stood in the bank parking lot
with her one day
so people coming out
could see her and stop their rushing
for a minute
there was a tractor trailer
parked in the street
and when the burly looking man
came striding out of the bank
I knew it was the truck driver
I worried a little about him
so did Josa
but halfway to me he broke his stride
his whole self softened
as he reached to pet Josa
so gently – so gently
and said softly
“she’s wonderful”
and went on to his truck
it’s like I said
I’m not a bouncy clown
The Day
The Day
the night is dark and the day is done
mistakes were made and the race not run
then I sigh and think of a different way
how I could have changed the entire day
but I didn’t and now it’s over you see
so I take a breath and know I am free
to close my eyes, sing a song or two
till I wake and start a day – brand new
—————
I’m participating in the Writer’s Digest PAD Challenge (PAD means Poem-a-Day) so this is the one for November 1st.–Enjoy
Speak Out
A person writes a chant in reaction to some event and then years later it absolutely applies to another event:
Speak out! Speak up!
Intervene! Interrupt!
By every means, in loving ways
Be sure you stop the hate!
© Copyright 2015 by Ann Freeman Price
Treasure Nearby
Treasure Nearby
This morning I finished reading for the second time “Pacem in Terris: A Love Story” by Frederick Franck. It is the story of a place which Franck and his wife Claske established in Warwick, NY and which they named “Pacem in Terris.”
It is quite literally a place of peace, which I first visited in the fall of 2014 and it is a treasure. It is home to many of his outdoor sculptures. His stained glass pieces are housed in a small little cottage——both his Tao of the Cross and the Parable of the Oxherd. Another small structure holds books, cards, postcards and prints, available for sale.
Franck’s art is also at the Museum of Modern Art, Fogg Art Museum, Tokyo National Museum, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He has written over thirty books, many of which I have found to be gems.
He was born in 1909 in the Netherlands; in 1945 became a U.S. citizen; and died in June of 2006 at the age of 97.
Pacem in Terris is open from May to October, makes a wonderful day-trip, and is noticeably different from most museums. There is no entrance fee but there is opportunity to make a donation. It is all outside except for the two cottages I mentioned and for the old mill which he transformed into almost a sanctuary of peace and which holds in the summer months various kinds of music for up to a hundred people for a nominal charge.
But none of these words get to the heart of the man Frederick Franck. His book does that and it created in me this morning a determination to re-read it once a year—in order not to lose a sense of his passion for seeing, his determination to create a physical place of peace, and his lifting up the people who work for peace——Albert Schweitzer, Pope John Paul, D. T. Suzuki.
I am 82 now. I hope to visit Pacem in Terris many more times, but the book reminds me through its black and white pictures of all those sculptures which dot the landscape in Warwick. I had heard about Pacem in Terris for a decade and if I had gone then I might have been lucky enough to meet Frederick Franck. Fortunately I still meet him through his books and his art.
There are treasures near the places where we live. Pacem in Terris is one of them.
Following Up on Lent
Following Up On Lent
At the beginning of Lent I wrote about loving it. Now a few weeks after Lent, I need to follow up on it a little.
It ended up being a strange Lent, because two and a half weeks after Ash Wednesday I had a flare-up of existing back pain which landed me in the emergency room twice and in the hospital for two days. Through all of that I took my Lent book and continued to write the daily chants that I had committed to write——and it helped.
It helped because the chants I wrote were connected to the study subjects and then I wrote more chants that connected to pain and healing and chaos. And wherever I was it helped me to sing.
On February 27th I wrote:
Stay Real with God Chant
stay real with God
remember God is love
no need to hide – no need to fear
no need to pretend for God is near
and loves
stay real with God
—————
On March 12th I wrote:
Ground of Rest Chant
Show me the way out of the maze I’m in,
Guide me in finding your true way,
Pain has slowed me down,
Help me find the ground of rest where you await and heal.
—————
On March 19th, at home again, and separate from the Lent study, I wrote:
Pain Chant
take away the pain, O God
take away the pain, O God
when it grabs – when it hurts
when there’s nothing else that works
take away the pain, if possible
(whisper) now
—————
During Holy Week, I started (at least chant-wise) re-writing the book, and on the 39th day of Lent I wrote:
Be In the Middle (Chant)
be in the middle of where it is scarey
be in middle of where there is pain
don’t run away – don’t cover up
stay – and grit your teeth
stay
—————
I still find Lent challenging, calling to my depths, and I do love it.
David According to Geraldine Brooks
David According to Geraldine Brooks
In 2015 Geraldine Brooks came out with “The Secret Chord” and in this book King David comes amazingly alive. This book has joined the ranks of books I recommend.
In her afterward Geraldine Brooks writes “David is the first man in literature whose story is told in detail from early childhood to extreme old age.” And you do get that in the Bible—this saga of a very human man who also became the beloved, and feared, and admired King David.
And Geraldine Brooks adds still some other dimensions to that David story—a breadth, a depth, a feeling, a wonder.
In one of the many disasters that David either caused or lived through, as he picked up his harp and began to sing and the words to the psalm were suddenly written on the page, tears came to my eyes and I recognized the human person who was feeling that psalm even as he wrote it.
I often finish a book and want to go on to read more about that subject. After reading “The Secret Chord”, I want to go back to the Hebrew Scriptures and once again follow this youngest son, this shepherd boy, this slayer of giants on past those events of his youth and on through his long life.
Many times when I complete a book that I have come to love in the reading of it, as I return it to the library I think “I need a copy of my own.” That is true of “The Secret Chord.”
I Love Lent
I Love Lent
I LOVE Lent and I don’t know if you’re even supposed to. But here I am anyway, loving it on the sixth day of Lent.
I’m using a book this year titled “Forty Days of Decrease—A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast,” by Alicia Britt Chole.
Each day it has a different kind of fast. Yesterday’s discipline was to fast from a tidy faith. And that was so good for me to think about because I’m a person who questions and sometimes doubts.
I have always loved how patient Jesus was with Thomas after the resurrection, and by now Jesus knows that I need that kind of patience too. I’ve been writing a chant for each day to coincide with the theme and the words to the chant for today are:
Untidy Faith Chant
(Fifth Day of Lent)
my faith is not stuffed in a box and tied with a little red bow
with all the questions answered and complete with creeds I know
instead my faith is spread all over and question after question sticks out
and mixed in with the questions is a sizeable amount of doubt
but Jesus deals – with me and my faith (and its questions)
Jesus deals – with me and my faith (with its doubt)
Jesus always says “keep asking – I’m here”
Jesus says “it’s all about love.”
© Copyright 2016 by Ann Freeman Price
And that’s me—I love the thinking and the figuring out and the creating and all of that goes along with my idea of Lent.
Lots About Books–and Grandchildren
Lots About Books—and Grandchildren
I can read books my grandchildren are reading. That’s the new reality I discovered this year.
One of my grandsons now has a long commute and is doing a lot of reading so I have suggested some books for him: “Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee; and “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah; and Kurt has suggested some books for me: “The Martian” by Andy Weir; “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins; and “Divergent” by Veronica Roth. And what fun it has been to read them around the same time and then be able to talk about them. I love it.
Delainey, age 11, suggested “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” and what a delightful book that I might never have discovered on my own. Thanks Delainey! Sadie, age 13, read “To Kill a Mockingbird” and that was a book I had given each of my grandchildren who were old enough to be reading it. What powerful books to have in common.
My grandson Zack is an ultra-runner: marathons and beyond. So in an effort to understand this phenomenon, I started reading books about it. The most recent one was “Dare to Run” by Amit Sheth. I found it an inspiring book whether you are a runner or not. He set goals—and I do likewise. He runs—I don’t. But I still strive for the completion of the goals.
New Release!!
Daybook of Personal Faith
Mama and Me
