Wordtreasure

We All Start at Zero

Luke 2:1-14

The practiced hands of the good-humored doctor
pull the infant out of the warm duskiness
of an amniotic ocean into the unfamiliar glare
of delivery room lights. It is a rough business,
coming into the world, but every person
in the room is pulling for the startled new arrival
to survive, grow, thrive, and come of age.

In this instant, we align ourselves with God
to affirm the wholesome generative forces of the world.
We all start at zero. Look at the face
of the newborn child. Where is the theological construct
of original sin? Do you see it? No?
The swaddled baby is laid on the mother’s chest
and begins to learn the ambivalent ways of humankind.

Christmas Day
December 25, 2022

Turning the Blank Pages

Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18

It was all good for the first three and a half minutes.
He led the orchestral intro from the bench,
waving his arms and bobbing his head
while I turned the pages.
No one was paying attention to me.
Then the orchestra fell silent.
Hr. v. B. launched into his solo part
and I swung open the next page…to nothing.
It was page after blank page
with just the occasional hieroglyphic note
that meant something to him
but nothing to me.

I panicked.
How was I to know
when one blank page ended
and another blank page began?
He took delight in my troubles,
but was kind enough to give me
a surreptitious nod
whenever we came to the end of emptiness.

The concert was a success.
No man was a better friend than Beethoven
when he was in a jolly mood.
I cherish the memory of his howls of laughter
at our convivial dinner after the concert!

Time brings an end to all living things.
Beethoven is gone now.
My own health is fragile.
That night in Vienna when I turned pages
for a generational genius—
unsure of what was coming next,
but surrounded by music most sublime
and encouraged by his bemused glance
at just the right moments—
was a key life lesson.
When we wake up in the morning
or start a new year,
we don’t have a score to follow.
We put our trust in the Master at the keyboard
giving us celestial music and surreptitious nods
as we turn the blank pages of our lives.

Hr. v. B. = Herr van Beethoven

NOTE: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 was first performed on April 5, 1803. Beethoven’s pupil Ignaz von Seyfried was the page turner.

Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 18, 2022

Our Responsibility

Psalm 146:4-9

The Lord created the heaven and earth.
He created the seas, and all that is in them.

Man had nothing to do with this.

The Lord gives justice to the oppressed,
sets the prisoners free,
opens the eyes of the blind,
lifts up those who are bowed down,
cares for the stranger,
sustains the widow and orphan,
and frustrates the ways of the wicked.

How are these things done?

They are done by those who love the Lord,
by those who follow his commands.

Third Sunday of Advent
December 11, 2022

Our Corporate Wholeness

Romans 15:4-13

Two things.
I have a connection
with every other person in the world.
My belief in that connection
is constantly tested and severed.

Perfectionism is a lie.
What if the quarterback has a perfect passer rating,
but his team loses?
How does he feel?
What if the gymnast scores a 10.0
in every event,
but her team loses?
How does she feel?

As for me,
I participate in the wholeness of the human family,
and that is holiness!
It is not my private holiness.
It is our connection together.

All of us as one seek
an active corporate and communal image
of what is happening.
I cannot carry
such glory and greatness
by myself.
And neither can I bear
such universal suffering and sadness.

Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2022

Put On the Armor of Light

Romans 13:11-14

My nettlesome dream snaps shut.
Instead of rolling over
for more slugabed minutes,
I get up and put on the armor of light—
ready to praise the image of God
on this day
in each face I greet.

First Sunday of Advent
November 27, 2022

∞

Poetry Stream

Poetry Stream follows the liturgical calendar from the First Sunday in Advent in Year C (December 2, 2018) to the Last Sunday After Pentecost in Year B (November 21, 2021). You will find a poem for each Sunday in the three year cycle. The poem is inspired by one of the four scriptures specified for that particular Sunday: Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament (epistle), and the Gospel.

Poetry Stream continues on November 27, 2022, with a new Year A.

This liturgical calendar is used by both the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).

Click this to view Poetry Stream.

New poetry, Bud and Mary

This collection of poems is about my parents, De Forest “Bud” Baldwin and Mary Dondro Baldwin.

To open the collection of poems, click THIS.

To open the index of poem titles, haiku, and tanka, click THIS.

If you would like to comment about the poetry or contact me, you can reach me at davebaldwin37@gmail.com.