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Happy Now?
I’ve written the first lines Of a million and one poems, With time only for beginnings, Half-finished thoughts and undeveloped dreams. I chase fresh starts, Looking for Perfect, For This Is IT. Instead I find Good For Now. But here, the sun is shining; The trees are shivering into salient green buds, And I think Continue reading
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Staying Awake
I’ve always had sympathy for the apostles who fell asleep while Jesus was praying in Gethsemane. I have even more sympathy these days, when a Friday night finds me, more often than not, passed out on my couch by 8pm. I wonder if they could have stayed awake better if they’d known why they had to Continue reading
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Thankful
For the usual things Made more special for their expectedness: Family Friends Food. For things beautiful and strange: Books with voices that strengthen my own; An orange cat with winsome determination; Crackling fires facilitating laughter and conversation. And for things unusual: Love beyond measure, And grace that finds us Even in the midst of our Continue reading
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Illumination
I wanted to be angry When you started work on the decayed hallways Lined with dim outlines of emptiness. Dust filtered down And the foundations shook; What a mess you’ve made. But this is the grace of sight: Not that I can see the cracks and breaks, But that through them I may glimpse the Continue reading
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Still Learning
They didn’t teach me How best to express an ache For people I don’t know, Or how to help heal a wound That never closes. They didn’t teach me Five steps to fix an evil next door And a continent away. But they did teach me how to love They taught me to stand up Continue reading
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Time Signature for a Fool
I stand ankle deep, Clutching dirty rags in lonely fists, Attempting to soothe my soul with bitterness. Until you pull me further in: You begin waltzing me through the dark waves. You lead me back and forth, Disregarding the rhythm I expected. You move me. And we dance, Until every step glows in the midnight ocean. Continue reading
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Never Forget
It’s a sunny and perfect day again, But this afternoon the airplanes Remain on their straight paths across the sky. I see a building with two colors of stone, And a chronological sea of benches. I thought never was a long time, But then fifteen years Still feels like yesterday. Continue reading
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Bookmarks
Currently: A paint chip, “English Channel”, From when we considered painting the living room Some version of navy blue. Previously: A gum wrapper; An envelope with a Polish return address; A strip of mint green ribbon; A ticket I didn’t buy, for a Corinne Bailey Rae concert Which I never attended. Once, a hair tie. Continue reading
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Driving After Midnight
I don’t remember the very first time I loved driving at night, But I recall an early July evening, When a phone call at 1am snapped me Out of self-pity and Took me and my car keys out the door In search of a gas station for supplies To help a friend stranded on I-495. Continue reading
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A Fortunate Poverty
This is not the grace I was looking for, This nibbly bit of blessing, Dragging me through one more day, But just barely. I’d prefer a measure of Dying Grace, The kind packaged with enough Courage and Faith To carry me through many moons And unto some glorious ending. Instead here I am With my plain, everyday Continue reading
About Me
I’m Stephanie – a perpetual student and aspiring hobbit. I love language, literature, and theology. I’m happiest when surrounded with good food, good company, and things that grow.
Beautiful Dust 