The Morning After Question

This morning you woke up
nauseous,
the pain radiating through
your belly
like an angry beast,
doubled over,
black bile flowing –
diarrhea,
rendered suddenly helpless
and the first question
you asked yourself is
what you ate the night before.

And yet, when your life fell apart.
and your soul ruptured in pain,
leaving you lost,
rudderless,
depressed and empty
you never asked the same question –
what have you been eating?
What have you read, watched,
let filter into your soul
like a diet
of bad seafood.

 About this poem

Friday I came down with some stomach bug. Never one to let something in life go without finding a lesson in it, this poem emerged….. Not pretty, but then often life isn’t. (fortunately, often it IS as well!)

The picture was taken at the Natural Bridge Haunted House, many years ago. It’s a pretty accurate image of how I felt Friday night.

Tom

About these Lenten Poems

My friend Cathy Benson is on to something. Instead of doing without for Lent, she is doing MORE with a prayer project that is thoughtful and caring.

Giving up something for Lent is a church tradition, not a biblical command. It was designed to get our minds and hearts right as we approach the holy week and Easter. It’s a good spiritual discipline.

But I think a spiritual discipline of doing something more is also a powerful way to prepare our hearts for Easter. The Methodists, through their “Rethink Church” initiative have come up with a photographic way to do this (see below). I am going to add a poem with each image for the lent season to help prepare myself. Feel free to glom on to the idea, visit the blog and read, or share your thoughts and prayers.