Dec 19, 2016 | Advent, Rusten Walter Harris
Mary- first century Palestine Most common of female names Young virgin betrothed to Joseph a carpenter -most common of trades An ancient quotidian couple Merely out to make their way Joseph’s hands calloused with labor Mary thinks of her wedding day Their story...
Dec 18, 2016 | Advent, Rusten Walter Harris
With the glow of a thousand lights Brightening my daughter’s eyes Cold air and a winter jacket She learns to keep her hands warm buried deep within her pockets And so she buys time To walk and watch and wander It’s her third Christmas And she is taking it...
Dec 17, 2016 | Advent, Rusten Walter Harris
Did Eve often ponder The voice she overheard- Oaths made to the serpent And the promise of her womb? And did Mary think of Eve When she heard the angel say That in her womb she would conceive A boy to name “God saves”? The rest of the poems from Rusten...
Dec 16, 2016 | Advent, Rusten Walter Harris
Glowing logs and cool of night As shepherds watch their flock Rough assembly of tired men habits of Cain’s stock Marginalized and cast aside Marked by field and sun Nomadic pastoral men Some old and some young In her heart treasured up Mary recalls the men Who...
Dec 15, 2016 | Advent, Rusten Walter Harris
An infant wriggling In your arms Grunting, rooting, writhing Crying Pushing against you- Or melding into the Topography of your torso True antonym of “abstract” A shoulder wet with reality Should remind you of Christmas The rest of the poems from Rusten...
Dec 14, 2016 | Advent, Rusten Walter Harris, Winter
Is it winter? The trees are waiting to be clothed Arms and branches lifted up to the heavens Staves – ragged upright wooden bones Sup life with a little soil – frozen Limbs clenched through the wind Some lose weight and watch their friends Keep warm...
