Poetry Where You Live

I noticed her standing there,
leaning into his ear, to share a little secret
focused on their conversation, from afar
remembering, now, the moments before
she skipping, running, sliding across the playground
in my peripheral vision, from the left
diving to a stop, to his ear
What must have been so important
so urgent, at five years old, at 7:43am
needing to be exchanged, the hand-off deftly done
parting quickly, the spy and her handler
he now with a grin, from ear to ear,
she across the blacktop
to quarry more juice

September 2, 2008
Pembroke Village School

Labels: America, child, Pembroke Village School, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, schools, secrets, September

Maybe not as bad as herding cats
wrangling felines, not that tough
the not yet awake children a bit more compliant
Teachers, aides, administrators (though less so)
herding sheep, willful mind of their own sheep
on the schoolhouse playground
streaming off the buses, out of the cars
out onto the blacktop, at breakneck speed
is that early morning dread I see,
on the face of the veterans
the newness already worn off
five and six, maybe seven year olds
outwitting their elders, so soon
with invisible edges to the area to run
keeping away from the bigger kids
fun watching from the sidelines
keeping score of the ones who got away

September 2, 2008
Pembroke Village School

Labels: America, child, Family, Pembroke Village School, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, schools, September, Shanequa, sheep

I guess it was a boy thing.
Eight years old and never
never had she experienced,
never created, willow whips
Choosing one, freshly fallen
to avoid the owner’s ire
the right length for your height
pulling off, carefully, the branches
following the straightest line
leaving a tuff, green leaves
at the end, to snap
A sudden lion tamer.
Rear the tail high, back
crack the whip!
Repeat as we walk on the way home
Remember this yard, where the willow grows
for another day, another harvest

September 1, 2008

Labels: America, daughter, Family, father, green, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, September, Shanequa, Shyanne, wheeping willow tree

Pass the word -
Invitation

Labels: Agape Cafe, America, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, Wesley United Methodist Church

In some ways, he is standing
on their shoulders, fulfilling
their dreams, his dream
made real, in this moment
this fragment of time

Their histories converging, joining
two speeches, one this night
one just beyond the horizon
just outside my memory,
beyond his memory too
those forty-five summers ago

Turning a page, on our nation’s history
unimaginable that day
alive in this special night
both giving voice to their hope
their faith, their prayer for this land

Their words echoing, ringing
merging in our minds, our hearts
a dream, a journey, a down-payment
inexorable progress, committed now,
like water through a crack in a dike
a torrent, open waters, living
freedom achievable for our people
coming for our people, even if,
just beyond the horizon still

August 28, 2008
on the Presidential Nomination acceptance speech by Barack Obama,
the I Have a Dream speech by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
on August 28, 1963, and the comments on NPR today of
Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, and
Representative John Lewis, D-GA

Labels: America, August, Barack Obama, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Faith, history, I Have a Dream Speech, John Lewis, justice, Martin Luther King, Methodist, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss

Each one, in a new school,
different, in this new town
a dry run, run through,
checking out the place
meeting teachers, staff,
getting a feel, finding their way
walking, stepping ahead
into tomorrow’s future a day early
a bit more prepared, at ease
for the coming year

August 26, 2008
tours and orientations for me
(and the three girls) today.
School starts tomorrow

Labels: America, August, Erica, Faith, Family, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, schools, Shanequa, Shyanne, teacher

Gulls perched on the pilings
a cormorant coursing low
toward the open sea
a breeze inland from the Atlantic
up on the bay, sitting by the pier
watching the boats, moored at rest,
the people, some busy, some quiet like me
a flotilla of bright kayaks slips silently by
bright blue beyond the glade of masts and rigging
caws of the gulls, the splash of minnows
soaking up the sun
sitting by the pier

August 10, 2008

Labels: America, August, blue, Family, Nature, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, water, wind

In the shop, a bit too pretty, pristine
I caught a few subtle, furtive,
slightly disdainful glances
supposing, deciding we were not quite worthy
some of the clerks, some of the primped,
prepped customers
Maybe it was our clothes,
our color scheme
not enough pastel plaid,
no alligator or turned-up collar,
not barefoot boat shoes
maybe the natural chaos, children in summer
or maybe the mocha hues of my family.
Whatever, our money was just as green.

August 10, 2008

Labels: America, August, Faith, Family, green, justice, Methodist, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, prejudice, Raymond A. Foss, summer

Labels: America, Martha's Vineyard, Nature, Photos, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss

Part of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, Brookline, MA, late 1980's or early 1990's

http://www.muddyrivermmoc.org/html/NecklaceLinks/masterplan.html

Labels: America, memories, Nature, Photos, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss

Labels: America, Family, Photos, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss

Labels: America, memories, Photos, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss

Christian tongues, silent for too long
at the injustice, the torture, the inequity
haves and have nots, divisions, prejudices
rampant in our world, needing voices,
champions, those to say, no more
Christian tongues need to speak
to stand for the last, the least, the lost
those little ones Christ called to him
those in dark places he was willing to go
We need to be the tongues, the voices,
the hands, the feet of Christ
Christ’s face to the world

August 4, 2008

Labels: America, August, Christ, christian, Faith, feet, God, hands, justice, love, Methodist, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, prejudice, Raymond A. Foss, Torture, voice

July 30, 2008

Dear Mr. Foss:

Thank you for contacting my office and expressing your opposition to certain interrogation techniques, including waterboarding.

I share your belief that methods of torture, including waterboarding, hypothermia, and stress positions, are not an acceptable or humane method of obtaining information. I was proud to be an original cosponsor, with Chairman Jerrold Nadler of the Constitution Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, of the American Anti-Torture Act (H.R. 4114). This legislation would have extended the U.S. Army Field Manual prohibition on torture techniques like waterboarding to all U.S. government agencies. This language was included in the Intelligence Authorization Act (H.R. 2082) and would have prevented intelligence agencies from engaging in torture. The President objected to this language and subsequently vetoed the Intelligence Authorization Act.

To learn more about current legislation or about my voting record, I invite you to visit the Library of Congress legislative information website (www.thomas.gov). There, you can find the full text of a bill or a summary, who introduced it and when, who is cosponsoring it, and where it is in the legislative process. I also invite you to visit my website (http://shea-porter.house.gov) for more information about bills that I have introduced or cosponsored, and for issue updates, position statements, event announcements, or to sign up for my email newsletter.
Thank you again for contacting my office. It is a privilege to serve you in Washington.

Sincerely,

Carol Shea-Porter
Member of Congress

Labels: America, Faith, George Bush, George W. Bush, July, justice, Methodist, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, NRCAT, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, President Bush, Raymond A. Foss, Torture, waterboarding

In a land of thinkers, of revolutionaries
breaking free of an empire, needing their wits
their guile, to hide behind trees, rocks,
rather than being in the open

The concept might have made sense -
“God helps those who help themselves”;
but Ben was wrong; he missed the point

We are as Adam, as Lot, as David, as Paul
doing that which we hate, living of the world
dying in sin; rising by faith, by grace alone

By grace we are given hope,
our works pale in comparison
Clay only on the potter’s wheel
by His hands alone worthy vessels
By grace we give grace to others

July 20, 2008
Romans 5:1-5 and
Sermon by Rev. Huntley Halvorson,
“Murphy Was Wrong”,
Suncook United Methodist Church, Suncook, NH
Murphy’s Law - “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”
“God helps those who help themselves”, by Ben Franklin,
Poor Richard's Almanac in 1757

Labels: Adam, America, Ben Franklin, David, Faith, grace, hands, Huntley Halvorson, July, Lot, Methodist, Paul, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, Romans, Romans 5, Sermon, Suncook United Methodist Church

The following poems were shared at Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH, as part of the 4th of July celebration:

-------
SET ONE
--------

On the Fourth

On the Fourth
and all year long
we must never forget
the words on that parchment so long ago
Our prayer of that day
still true here and now
our nation to be true
all to be free,
as our creator intended
free from oppression,
to pursue, happiness to find
within ourselves
and with our God
A vision worthy to uphold
a hope to share with the world
May we never forget
to hold these words in our hearts

July 4, 2008
Declaration of Independence
written for July 4th celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH

---

Words of Mettle

I paused today
to read, once again,
those words of mettle,
of resolve, of hope, of our faith
Those words, part of the thread
the dream, the story that is America
Those words written in Philadelphia
proclaimed the sins of the king
the prayers of the colonies
the roots of our democracy
What we believe
and what we celebrate today

July 4, 2008
Declaration of Independence
written for July 4th celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH

---

A New Nation

As was remembered, four score and seven years later
our nation, a new nation
was brought forward; but not by war, willed
created by the words written in that hall
the words of that Philadelphia summer
Changing our world, splintering an empire
held together by might, for a dream of freedom
All are equal, all must be free
so is our pledge, our plea
the dream of America, still unfulfilled
so many summers gone by
so far have we come
I hear freedom starting to ring
part of the dream given voice
by another pastor, forty-five years ago
may it start in our hearts today

July 4, 2008
Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address,
Emancipation Proclamation, Preamble to Constitution,
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, 8/28/1963
written for July 4th celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH
In reading this, I noted that the nomination speech
of the Democratic Convention this summer
will be on the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech

-------
SET TWO
-------

Closer to Home

The war got a little
closer to home
as the concerns were lifted
before the congregation
in the stilled sanctuary
We became a bit quieter
a bit more attentive
truly prayerful

One of our own
was called up, again,
to leave our midst
to go to that place of chaos
of senseless death
so far away
Yes, the war got closer to home
that Sunday a few weeks ago

May we remember
all the sons, all the daughters
the fathers, the mothers
out there serving us all
so we can be free

June 12, 2007 9:00
written for the 4th of July celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord. NH
about Adam Doucette

---

Our Prayers Answered

One of our own,
one of us, a member with us
our prayers, long repeated
oft remembered, our prayers answered
He was safe, out of harm’s way
boots down on U.S. soil
home from the way, endless
Home to his family, his friends;
not all so lucky, so blessed.
We remember them too,
And those still in the breach.
Our lives, our freedoms
we hold so dear, because they went.
We thank God he is back with us.
We pray soon they all will be home.

July 2, 2008
on the day in church when the news was
announced that Adam Doucette was back home
Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH

-------
SET THREE
-------

Safe in My Bed

Before I rise to start my day
I felt a need to stop and pray
for the men and women of our land
who are out there in the world taking a stand
to guard the dark places to keep us free
to watch for the enemy behind the rock, the tree

Remembering the mettle of this day
when people stood for freedom, so our children may play,
to live in a land that is truly free
and be safe in my bed in tranquility.

We celebrate the words in the Declaration this day
but we need to remember to stop and pray
that the words mean nothing without the grit
and the people who have been willing to commit
to the dangerous work of protecting this dream
to fight for our country and keep it from harm

So we rise this morning from our safe beds
and know that our country has nothing to dread
because there are people on guard
out there in the world
We pray for their safety,
each mother, each son,
and pray for their return
when their work is done

July 4, 2007 7:41

---

A Fourth Under Fire

We celebrate once again
the bravery of those certain men
who saw what they had to do
and though they were times
to try men’s souls
they hung the lantern
and answered the call
to defend the freedom they sought
and put pen to a new hope, a creed
to live in justice and trust
and fight for it we must

A land worthy of song
for banners and truths we hold dear
even when we become flawed or amiss
when we over extend and export
and fight for the wrong in court

A people, a thought,
a prayer in the maddening crowd
to save more than we harm
to live by our joint sacred text
to fight for the rights of all
open our heart to the down and the out
and give our neighbor his space
not force it in his face
and live simpler than some
so we can say in the end
that we honored our dream
and cared for the last and the least
to see ourselves in them
and treated them just
so those storied men of old
wouldn’t regret being so bold
as to put pen to page
creating a new land and place
where we could be as one
and live out our days
humbly and in peace

June 23, 2006 18:45

---

Without Freedom Still

We gathered, took time off,
pondered our freedom,
on the anniversary
our Declaration of Independence
when we dissolved the political bonds
when we proclaimed, to the world,
what we hoped for, what we believed in
as a people, set apart,
that we hold these truths to be self-evident,
that we are born equal, each one,
that the creator gave us unalienable rights,
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

How wondrous are those words,
how much we have achieved
casting off the chains that hold us back
how far we have to go; but
We are free, by most measures

How hard life must be
in the many places on the globe
where people are not yet free
where there are people still
in the grip of slavery, in bondage,
in fear for their lives,
for their children’s lives
for any kind of future
for religious persecution,
indiscriminant death

How blind we are,
to the realities around the world
How silent we are
to the evil that stalks this sphere
How much more we could do
if we took our freedoms more seriously
and invested in justice
to the four corners
of this troubled planet

July 4, 2007 20:36

---

Half Staffs

D-Day and The Fourth
Bookends of a month
In the life of the Nation
The death of a President

Reminders each day
Against blue sky or grey
Of sacrifices, and lives lost
Defending our rights

Freedom isn’t free
The media doesn’t see
The good of the troops
In those lands of sand and
Minarets, martyrs
And madmen

Freedom, food, water, hope
On the line, in the chaos,
In the storm, in the desert,
In the streets of Baghdad

Snap in the breeze, or limp on the cord
Sentries marking the honor
To a man, I didn’t support
But honor, nonetheless
For his optimism, faith
In this place, this idea

The rightness of our dream
Lost for so long in the malaise
The hurt from Dallas to Tehran

On guard still,
Our finest in the field
Pawns or patriots, whatever your view

Remember to vote, to have a say
To remember them all

Snap to attention,
And pledge allegiance
To this nation

For it’s the best hope
As Reagan knew, and we do too
So whether half staff or whole
We remember the call,
The duty we share,

To herald the hope,
The dream we hold dear
This Fourth and all year.

Writtten 6/28/04 9:33pm
Edited 7/5/04 16:36, based on the way I did the reading at the Agape Café section of the Wesley United Methodist Church 4th of July celebration

Labels: America, blue, Emancipation Proclamation, Faith, fear, Gettysburg Address, I Have a Dream Speech, July, July 4th, June, justice, life, Martin Luther King, Mayflower Compact, Methodist, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, sky, US Constitution, voice, Wesley United Methodist Church

The cooling fading sunset
Ribbons of pink, wisps,
swirls, pulled threads of taffy
darkening color
like watermelon taffy
changing to rose, to plum,
fading to dust on the wind
cooling into darkness,
while we sit on the lawn,
listening to the band,
waiting for the fireworks

July 4, 2008 20:51
written at July 4th celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH

Labels: America, Faith, flowers, July, July 4th, Methodist, Nature, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, Wesley United Methodist Church, Writing Poetry

As was remembered, four score and seven years later
our nation, a new nation
was brought forward; but not by war, willed
created by the words written in that hall
the words of that Philadelphia summer
Changing our world, splintering an empire
held together by might, for a dream of freedom
All are equal, all must be free
so is our pledge, our plea
the dream of America, still unfulfilled
so many summers gone by
so far have we come
I hear freedom starting to ring
part of the dream given voice
by another pastor, forty-five years ago
may it start in our hearts today

July 4, 2008
Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address,
Emancipation Proclamation, Preamble to Constitution,
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, 8/28/1963
written for July 4th celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH
In reading this, I noted that the nomination speech
of the Democratic Convention this summer
will be on the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech

Labels: America, Emancipation Proclamation, Faith, Gettysburg Address, I Have a Dream Speech, July, July 4th, Martin Luther King, Mayflower Compact, Methodist, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, US Constitution, voice, Wesley United Methodist Church

I paused today
to read, once again,
those words of mettle,
of resolve, of hope, of our faith
Those words, part of the thread
the dream, the story that is America
Those words written in Philadelphia
proclaimed the sins of the king
the prayers of the colonies
the roots of our democracy
What we believe
and what we celebrate today

July 4, 2008
Declaration of Independence
written for July 4th celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH

Labels: America, Faith, July, July 4th, Methodist, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, Wesley United Methodist Church, Writing Poetry

On the Fourth
and all year long
we must never forget
the words on that parchment so long ago
Our prayer of that day
still true here and now
our nation to be true
all to be free,
as our creator intended
free from oppression,
to pursue, happiness to find
within ourselves
and with our God
A vision worthy to uphold
a hope to share with the world
May we never forget
to hold these words in our hearts

July 4, 2008
Declaration of Independence
written for July 4th celebration
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH

Labels: America, Faith, July, July 4th, Methodist, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, Wesley United Methodist Church, Writing Poetry