Grace Intoxicated

I had the idea to start a blog to share my own poems, poems of others that resonate with me, and for others to post poems or quotes that inspire them, bring beauty, clarity, healing, a different perspective, or transformation regarding the difficult things we face in this human experience. I named this blog and the following poem Grace Intoxicated. This is inspired by an idea I gleaned from Bishop John Shelby Spong. He was the keynote speaker at a conference I attended and an audiance member asked him a question about prayer. I loved his answer, which revolved around the way in which prayer isn't something we do to manipulate God into doing what we want God to do for us but rather, it is a way of life. He stated, "be a God intoxicated human being, which means to live fully, love wastefully, and be all that we can be!" So, I stole the "intoxicated" concept from him regarding grace, which of course translates to God as well.....but I've been contemplating the way in which grace is always available to us, we just need to look at things through a new lens, to shift our perspective and understanding of our experiences, especially the difficult ones, and become intoxicated!!!!

Grace Intoxicated

It was in a prayer she asked

how do you mend a broken heart

with tears swelling

like a giant sun just slipping

away over the lip of the horizon

pulling all the color out of the sky

squeezing red, and blue, and orange

until only blackness remained

This isn’t much like a broken glass

where you kneel on the floor picking up

the bigger pieces, carefully placing them

in your palm and then sweeping the

tiny shards until there is no longer

any sign of your clumsiness, of your loss

No, a broken heart encompasses everything

like a wicked wind you can’t even see

but whips your hair, slams the door, blows

dirt into your eyes

and try as you might to avoid it

the memories howl and whistle against your windows,

blow tree branches to scratch at the side of the house

as you try to sleep, or fry an egg, or spread the

almond butter on the toast, or talk with a friend,

or burst with sudden laughter while eating chocolate cake

loss is ever-present

looming like your own shadow

follows you wherever you go

But there was an answer

to her prayer

you need this pain

it is fertile soil

so scatter seeds and allow

the water of this experience

to nourish all that sits and

awaits change

it is bread dough

moist and heavy in the oven

waiting for the right temperature

and time to raise into its fullness

there is nothing that needs to be

mended, just embraced

all that we face is holy

so drink this thick dark

loss and become grace

intoxicated