The Platypus

He's an odd gentlemen, he

With mouth and tail equally heavy,

Like a teeter-totter on land,

Like a missile in the water.

There's venom hidden in him.

His cuteness notwithstanding, I don't

Want to allow my much-loved appendages near,

For he can strike me down.

Intrigued by him, I will not

Discontinue the research, yet

I hesitate –

Imagining the strike.

Rice

Rice planted, rice sprouts, peeking through bare earth,
Like single blades of grass, bright green against the dust.
Growing, they strengthen until the busy farmers visits,
And starts the well pump. The motor hums through the night
Until all is flooded, water licks up against dirt levees.
In their humid, mosquito-infested home, the green plants fatten.
Green enough to make a Tiger jealous,
A stark contrast to orange levee gates
And the ubiquitous red-winged blackbird
That flutters here, there, among the grasses.
Days grow hot, dry, and trucks stir up dust that settles on their heads,
Heads that are filling out with fruit,
The kernels are fattening, and this too, the farmer sees.
He pulls the levee gates (they are only tarps),
Delivers the water from its prison, scatters
It over roads and ditches.
And now the rice is ready for the final stretch,
The kernels must ripen, this is the purpose of their life.
And as the kernels ripen, the rice begins to change.
The green fades slowly, slowly, yet inexorably
Into gold, gold for the farmer,
Gold for the eater, the harvest.

Ariadne's Betrayal

I met him at a party
He was looking for some trouble
I could see he was scanning the crowd
While I privately admired his meaty shoulders

I circled to him, daring him to notice me
His lips stretched tight across perfect crooked teeth
Ted was his name, he said, grasping me firmly
On my arm so that I felt his fingers
Pressing into my skin

"Do you know," he asked, and his breath stirred my hair,
"Do you know a guy named Mike?"
"Mike!" I said, "Mike, my brother?"
(Mike was a bull-faced man, a scrapper, and yet...)

"Your brother!" That's when he looked my face over
He liked what he saw, his eyes burned brightly
"Yes, Mike is my brother, and I am Alliya,
But why would you care about that?"
"Alliya," he said, "Alliya, take me to Mike."

In an instant I weighed the decision
Heavy for Mike, my brother, often angry, but my brother.
But heavier still for this strong stranger
He might be my one shot, my one ticket out

I chose Ted, I told him where to go
Knowing my brother would go somewhere else
Ted strode in the house, not knocking, not caring,while
I nervously paced the concrete porch
Then Ted withdrew a revolver so solid that it
Killed Michael there on my mom's flowered couch

We leapt for the car, knowing the protection of distance
The Holiday Inn was seventy-five miles away
My heart had no feeling, it must have stopped beating
With the shot that stopped Mike's breath
When I finally slept I dreamed that Mike was still living
And the arms that held me were those of my father
When I woke I was alone

Abandoned, I wept, trying to drain it all
My anger, my fear, my shame, and my regret
I turned in the keys, but I stayed in the lobby
Nothing to move me, I slumped in the chair
My fingers tracing the flowers printed on the armrest

I sold out my brother to a rotten apple,
A car with no transmission, not a star, but a meteorite.
I should try to go back to my father
But why would he take me after what I had done?
I studied my wrists, pale and trembling
I could see the veins, dark with blood
The blood of my life I might drain if I dared
To end my existence, to bring on the finish

Then quietly, softly, a hand touched my shoulder
My wrists dropped, suddenly, glad to get away.
The one who was there offered me a new home
And nothing could prevent me from loving him more
More than father, mother, brother, lover
Because he gave me a second life that grew up over the first

Failed Again

Again I have failed to write the poem I planned to. I wouldn't post at all, but I am trying to shame myself into getting this done. I started it, actually. Does that count for something?

A Lick and a Promise

A poem about the Greek god Dionysus was in the plans for today's post. However, I got sidetracked by a visitor, a phone call, and a facebook conversation. Thus, I am offering you nothing but a promise that it will be forthcoming (that means I'll post it soon).

My Reward

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Genesis 15:1

“Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” What if God had said that to you? If God were your shield, who could penetrate that? Who could ever harm you? If God were your reward, what more could you ask for? What more could you receive than the King of the Universe? What an amazing statement!

But let's look back into Abram's situation. His nephew, Lot, had been captured in a battle over a tribute dispute. Abram, hearing of his nephew's fate, set out to rescue him. Abram's rescue mission succeeded in bringing back not only his nephew, but also everyone and everything else that had been captured.

The king of Lot's country was very glad to recover his losses, and wanted to reward Abram for what he had done. In a very generous move, the king told Abram that he could have all of the material goods, and the king would just take the people.

Surprisingly, Abram refused to take anything. He told the king that he had sworn to God not to carry off even a thread or a shoelace. Why? Because he didn't want the king to say that Abram had gotten rich by taking his stuff.

That's where we find Abram. He was successful in doing what was right; he had conquered the enemy, but he was no richer. He had nothing to show for his work except that Lot was safely home.

Then God came to him in a vision. “Fear not,” He said, “I am thy shield.” Abram had been protected in battle by the power of God. He could not lose against the enemy because God was with him. God was reminding him of this fact.

But the next thing God said was even better: “and thy exceeding great reward.” Abram didn't need the spoils of war. He didn't need anything that anyone else had. Why not? Because God Himself was his reward. And not just a reward, an “exceeding great reward.” Even though Abram had not increased in material riches, he had more than he could ever have wanted in God alone.

When I face a battle in my life, it's usually a struggle to win. If my faith is in God, He shields me and helps me to be victorious. But often I wonder why I seem not to have gained anything from my victory.

It's encouraging to me to read what God said to Abram, because it helps me realize that my reward doesn't have to be something material. It doesn't have to be something I can brag about. It doesn't have to be anything this world thinks is great. After my battles with sin, self, flesh, and Satan are through, I receive a better reward, an exceeding great reward: God Himself.

A Prayer

My God!
I called Him.
Called Him
In need, in my need.
My God! I yelled.
My hands,
My feet,
My mind: these
Were of no
Value.

Unobstructed, the answer
Came to me,
Just to me.
Through the mud-soaked glass,
Not hidden by the pounding rain,
The answer
Came.

I AM
He said.
I AM, and
None else beside.
Not you, nor any other
Can cripple,
Curb,
Or block Me.

You Are,
My will accepted.
You Are,
And I
Am not.
I crawled to You,
Relented me,
Submitted me;
The sum of me
I yielded.