I watch and wait

—-∞∞—-

Thundering, blowing rain
A squall
Wind-whipped leaves
Vegetables in the prisoners’ garden
Planted in the housing unit yard
By the fence

While a desolate place
Nurturing rain
Growth
Symbols of life’s hope
Grace overcoming bleakness
Pushing aside despair

Sheltered under an overhang
I watch and wait
Far from the chapel
Where men also wait
Four locked gates away
I watch and wait

This entry was posted on July 16, 2017 at 8:38 pm and is filed under Faith, Ministry, Nature, Personal, Poetry, Prison Ministry, Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

maskednative Says:
July 22, 2017 at 2:10 am | Reply
This is great Tom. You capture the presence of hope within such a closed space, it’s tangible.
- Tom Says:
  July 23, 2017 at 10:27 pm | Reply
  My comment below was meant to be a reply.
Tom Says:
July 23, 2017 at 10:25 pm | Reply
Thank you, Teri. I am easily still alone watching that wonderful scene in that awful place.

It is my hope that those men will always dwell with me in my thoughts. There is something about the human spirit up against all that stone and steel that seems to illuminate the purpose that lies behind a true encounter with the other, that collective suffering and societal estrangement that simply yearns to connect.
- maskednative Says:
  July 24, 2017 at 2:15 am | Reply
  Thank you, Tom, for that insight into suffering. I had never thought about suffering in the way you decribe. The yearning to connect is desperate, coming from a place of deep hurt, lashing out to be seen and understood. You have given me a lot to think about.
  - Tom Says:
    July 29, 2017 at 8:45 pm
    Thank you, Teri. You continue to encourage.
maskednative Says:
July 24, 2017 at 2:20 am | Reply
p.s. I’m keeping this poem Tom, in case I should ever forget.

In a dim light…