——Our Father– God in heavenWhen we call your namewhat shall we say?Jesus called you, FatherHe taught us to say,Our FatherOur FatherYou have a nameIt’s personalWe are your children by faithAnd through the Holy Spirit we cry,Abba, Father!A child can wake their father up in the middle of the night to […]
Behold CharactersRich ManPoor ManSetting: The Rich Man and the Poor Man are standing upstage left, upstage right. Mary is sitting between them downstage center holding a baby. She has no dialogue. The Rich Man and the Poor Man speak to the audience. Rich Man: I’m a successful guy. Things come pretty […]
— —Save Me God save medeliver me from those who are good—Who have no doubts about youor anythingShield me from decent peoplerich in options, positive-thinkers—bright and blessedand thoroughly socializedHide me from their glance—their smiling discomfort anddesperate need to be wise and patient Leave meoutside the camp with Jesusand the disdain […]
–Echoes Look to water—your home that was on solid groundhas left youSkeletons without a ship—have a lot of room to roamSurvivors lie on the shore—and may never get upNever mind—every home is a foreign country—an ill-fitting wind, a chest of echoLook to skies—one dayyou’ll wear your homelike a seamless […]
— —Ride In the carthe more the driver fidgets—the more we may dieWhen did I lose the ability—to just ride?Naive blissful funfreedom and the open road65 miles per hour in a machine—driven by a human beingWhen did every tragedybecome plausibleevery worse-case-scenario—a spoiler alertWhen did the badbecome bigger?When did I lose […]
— – The Fisherman CharactersMan MarcusSetting: Just before dawn, on the beach of the Sea of Galilee. A man is sitting by the fire. Marcus approaches. Marcus: Hey.Man: Hello!Marcus: I’m setting up camp down the beach. I was just looking to start a fire.Man: This one’s already going. Join me! […]
There were five of us. My sister, Roxie, and I were only a year apart so we were lumped together in all things. We used to complain that our names were treated as one name in the family because they were often said that way. It was as if we […]
JURY/NEW YORK In New York you’re called up for jury duty every two years. You can delay it a few months but eventually you have to go. Getting the dreaded jury duty notice could ruin your day. I never had a job that paid my salary while I was doing […]
NEW YORK I worked at Life Cafe for six years in the 80’s. A Broadway musical and later a film were produced that had the cafe at the center of the story. Watching your workplace turned into a Broadway musical is something everyone should try and imagine. Some of […]
MONTANA My father was born in Minnesota. They called him Frosty. His name was Forrest Adolphus. My father’s mother died giving birth to his younger brother. A year later the baby, Cameron, also died. He died on the train that was taking him to Canada to live with relatives. That […]