Archive for September, 2018

When Islands Sleep

September 26, 2018

When Islands Sleep

Quiet haze over the land
Stillness hanging in the air
Lights out, dimmed, flickering intermittently
A mere remnant of last night’s antics
Closed eyes, tightly shut barely
Slowly opening, waiting for the gentle welcome of dawn’s newness
Hoping for more time, yes… time to greet the day
Refreshed leaves blowing in breeze
Gentle sounds of early morning caregivers
Sweep, brush, stir, beat, whip, whip, whip
The lovesong of winged creatures drawing us out of slumber
When islands sleep…life still happens.

© 2018. Charisse R. Tucker.

architecture attraction bay bridge

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Easy Like Sunday Morning

September 24, 2018
purple petal flower

Photo by Artur Roman on Pexels.com

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Easy like Sunday morning…
What does that even mean these days?
Sundays haven’t been easy in a long time

Somewhere between obligation and vocation
Between commitment and rote memory
Easy slipped away snatching a bit of joy with it as it went
Right through my fingers, rolling off of my Hallelujah falling thud to the floor
Sunday mornings haven’t been easy in a long time it feel like

Or maybe I pushed it away, told easy it wasn’t welcome
Put it in a box, tucked it away for safekeeping until I needed it in a crunch
Locked away on display in a china cabinet between family heirlooms and childhood trophies
Something for visitors to be impressed with, to ooohhh and ahhh at
Something that begs passerbyers to ask, “Tell me the story of your easy”
But now I can’t find the key

Or maybe I rubix cubed it along the way
Made it more puzzle than it needed to be, more puzzle than it asked for
Needed it to be brain teaser to make struggle be more struggley
Make sure to get my How I Got Over girl scout badge more honest
Ministry cred real like
More anointing evident cause of the war story that comes with difficulty

I just want my easy back
Not duty free, not absent of obligation, not vocation light
But with the settled assurance that Sunday morning serving still means something–
Is worth it
Want my easy on the wings of the morning
Blowing in from the four corners of the earth or wherever She comes in from
Want to drink in my easy mouth open wide
In the hum of prayers offered at the altar
With the call to enter in with thanksgiving
Want to rediscover my easy in between “Thine the glory” and “Amen”
In the breaking of Bread, in the troubling of waters
In the rocking of pew
In the memory of early days
When truly one thing I desired, when only one thing I wanted to seek

The kind of easy that embraces the complexity of Sunday
Made more strange by the happenings of the week
The kind of easy that got eyes open, heart attuned
Present in this world and seated high too
The kind of easy that transcends understanding

Easy like that kind of Sunday morning.
© 2018. Charisse Tucker.