Prayerfully Poetic

A Collection of Prayerful Poems by Tim McGee

#God

  • Beneath an enameled cross

    Enameled crosses hangabove cushioned pews,white hands lift in worship,voices tremble at the name of Jesus,while outside the sanctuaryanother soulis treated as less than sacred. And heaven grieves. For Christ was not crucifiedbeneath stained glass comfort.He died brown-skinned, bruised,beneath an empirethat feared the dignityof the unwanted. There is a racismthat no longer burns crosses,because it has… Read more

  • The Sun Ascends

    This morning, before the boats stirred,before the gulls began their circling, the big lake held the last of the nightlike a deep and ancient thought. The water was nearly still. Only a small ripple moved outwardfrom somewhere unseen,widening across the dark surfaceuntil it disappeared into silence. Then the eastern horizonbegan to brighten. Not suddenly. A… Read more

  • Onomatopoeia

    This morning the world prayed before I did The robin sang cheep-cheepfrom the lilac branch The creek whispered gurgle-gurgleover patient stones Leaves applauded with a gentle rustleand somewhere beyond the hilla bee hummed its tiny hymnbuzzzz I smiled at the sacred onomatopoeiaof Your creationall these soundsthat are somehow more than soundseach one a small translationof… Read more

  • Learning to Love

    Love is not always polite. Love does not always bowto comfort,or whisper only what we wish to hear. Sometimes love arriveslike a hand upon the shoulder,turning us gentlytoward a truth we would rather avoid. Sometimes love asks more of usthan we are prepared to give. Yet love never strips anotherof their dignity. Love does not… Read more

  • Gird My Thoughts

    Lord,gather the loose fabric of my mind. So many thoughts wanderlike garments in the wind,caught on fear,heavy with yesterday,restless for tomorrow. Tie them gently at the waist of Your mercy. Grant me the spiritual readinessthat sees the world as passing shadowsand yet still shimmers with Your hidden fire. Keep me awake. Not rigid or afraid,but… Read more

  • Diffusive Love

    before beginningthere is communion the Father givingall that He isfullness the Son receivingall that is givenand returning itin radiant joy the Spiritliving flame of that exchangebreath of delightthe sweetness of shared being a diffusive loveis gift without measurelife pouring into lifefullness flowering into more fullness from this holy abundanceworlds awakenlight lifts its facewaters gather their… Read more

  • Joy Remains

    Happinessrests lightlyupon the surface of circumstance. A door opens.A child laughs.That new car smell. Then evening changes the weather. But joyroots deeper. It kneels beside the bedof what can be lostand loves still. Joy does not requiresunlight. It has learnedto recognize Godby touch alone. A parent knows this. The child who breaks your sleep,your plans,your… Read more

  • An Intro to the Poet Behind Prayerfully Poetic

    I do not carry the knowledge of a theologianI do not rest in the quiet mastery of a contemplativeI do not burn with the tireless zeal of an evangelistI do not walk with the radiant holiness of a saint Yet still I stand in gratitude For the grace of God that finds me again and… Read more

  • a quiet resurrection

    Maybe this is what Christ meant Not the triumphof armies or thunderbut this a bogstill remembering winterits dark waters loosenedonly nowfrom death’s hard seal And therewithout witnesswithout announcementone flower rises So smallthe world could miss it entirely Yet beauty does not define itselfin size It simply blooms And somehowthe fragile thingfills the whole lensuntil marsh… Read more

  • When Truth Stands Still

    I shaped Your name to fit my comforttrimming the edges of eternityso it might sit quietly in my reason But Truth does not shrinkIt burns with a light too purefor human hands to hold I called my confusion humilitymy compromise lovemy silence peace Yet Your holiness speaksin a voice that cannot be muteda flame that… Read more