Author Archives: Dave

Looking to the West for Matthew and Ginger We are looking to the west—to the old Smith Toweron the left, to tinted office towers on the right,to the piers and giant cranes of the Port of Seattle, to whitecaps on … Continue reading →

Those People The Paleo-Indians, the first Americans,are checking out the neighborhood.Woe to mammoths and mastodons. Life is good in 1491.Conquistadors from faraway Iberiaclaim land for the king of Spain. Driven away by the Church of England,Pilgrims, Puritans and Roman Catholicsare … Continue reading →

[tanka] like a stuttering newsreelfrom the 40s,the same events and the same emotionsof joy and disappointmentroll across my mind

Jap I was born in 1942.One of the first words I learnedas a small childwas the word Jap.I heard it ten thousand timesbefore my fourth birthday,and when I learned to readit was in the L.A. Timesevery day.Every day.

This is a Test Matthew 4:1-11 The verbs to tempt and to test are not the same.God did not tempt Abraham to sacrifice his oneand only child, Isaac. For it is written,“After these things God tested Abraham.”The devil tempted Jesus … Continue reading →

Childhood Memories Memories of my childhoodare hopelessly corrupt.Facts are elusive.The core event may stay the same,protruding like a stonein a turquoise tidal pool,but ancillary facts appear,disappear, reappear,and shape-shift over time. Facts are fleeting,but feelings are foreverand absolutely incorruptible.Memories are not … Continue reading →

Resilience Carey, Idaho The people come and go,but Carey is used to the churn.Time is a daunting flow. Pioneers long agolet the church run the town.The people come and go. Roads and railroads come slow,and water is a grave concern.The … Continue reading →

The Parable of the Mustard Seed Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 The kingdom of God beganwith a solitary man. The solitary manwas a tiny seed of one. Growth began the hourJesus revealed his power. The kingdom of God grewwhen Jesus added two. … Continue reading →

[haiku] taps…the widow folds her lifeand puts it away

Our Love Love instantiates. Twain soulsset out: governed by gravitysliding scraping muscling through perilous rapids churning whitebending through forests and fieldsbeneath the bridges of twelve towns gaining girth and losing speedadding a tinge of toxic sludgeto a whispering flood a … Continue reading →

Rejection The same stone which the builders rejectedhas become the chief cornerstone. ~Psalm 118 The great American poet was gravely ill.Confined to home, he was game enough for an interview.As I was ushered into his august presence,I noticed letterhead papers … Continue reading →

Evening, Midnight, Cockcrow, Dawn Mark 13:35-36 Watchman, wake. Awake and rise!You must be ready when the master comes.Don’t let him catch you by surprise in the evening,at midnight,at cockcrowor at dawn. Watchman: this charge is yours to keep.The master comes … Continue reading →

When Jesus Saw the Crowds When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36 When Jesus saw the crowds,he felt the world’s pain—for the sick, the … Continue reading →