This Is Jesus
"When I visited Rwanda/ (Or was it Golgotha?)" -- a haunting poem by Glenn Hawke seeks an Easter message in the death and misery of Rwanda's genocidal legacy. (Originally published November 10, 2003).  [posted 1/5/05]

This Marathon of Hope
We have been "threatened with Resurrection," muses Susi Moser in her poem on Christ's death. Rather than despairing it as representing the "futility of our deeds," she finds hope that it may yet "fertilize our struggle." (Originally posted November 12, 2003.)  [posted 1/12/05]

Out on the Desert
"Deep in the city's shadows a sparrow/ darts trustingly to receive the bread/ crumbs offered it by a crying vagrant girl." A poem by Louie Crew. (Originally posted September 17, 2003.)  [posted 1/11/05]

implosions
A poem by Michael Datcher, originally published in the May/June 2003 "Martyrdom" edition of The Witness magazine.  [posted 1/12/05]

Loss
"A razor between the ribs/ separates the sacred chamber/ like lips in prayer." During the war in Iraq, a poem by Ralph Pitman reflects on the theme of the loss of life and "collateral damage." (Originally posted April 23, 2003.)  [posted 1/12/05]

If Fury Is Red, What Color Is Wisdom?
"The world, it seems/ has become nothing more/ than a brightly hung/ pi-ata." With increasing violence around the globe, and a sense of imminent war in Iraq, poet Christine Rodgers offers her voice. (Originally posted January 17, 2003.)  [posted 1/12/05]

Living in the Bullseye
"I write from today's Auschwitzian oven/ These gases are radioactive and economic." Cliff Kindy sends a poem from Iraq to his daughter Miriam. In a land that some scholars identify as the beginning of biblical creation, Kindy reports that "the rivers of life have become the rivers of hell." (Originally posted December 18, 2002.)  [posted 1/13/05]

Triage: Dedicated to the Nurses of the Vietnam War
"Who would believe that God would have/ handed me such a chore"? As her nation contemplates going to war in Iraq, in stark, haunting words, poet Laurie Kash pays homage to those who died in Vietnam a generation ago, and to those who were their caregivers. (Originally posted December 6, 2002.)  [posted 1/13/05]

Here's a Christmas Child for You
"I remember the church groups bringing gifts/ and eats; parading through my Home/ . . . And now I must tell you a difficult thing/ we didn't like any of it." A poem by Blaine Paxton Hall speaks to the tension of the Christmas season of "giving." (Originally published December 2002.)  [posted 1/18/05]

Duty: A Mirrorwise Reflection between Matthew 2:16 and John 16:2
"You don't build a kingdom being soft/ He cuts a broad swath, our King." A poem by Tobias Stanislas Haller prods at the themes of nationalism and loyalty that emerge at the center of a world at war. (Originally posted December 1, 2002.)  [posted 1/18/05]

For a Friend in Travail
A poem by Adrienne Rich. (Originally published November 2002.)  [posted 1/18/05]

Intifada Incantation: Poem 38 for b.b.L.
A poem by June Jordan. (Originally published October 2002.)  [posted 1/20/05]

Beneath the Listening Sky
"Let us become the praise and not the pain/ Let us bear the burden as celebration. . ." While the earth shed tears, a poem by Jonathan Reiber speaks to the search for common ground. (Originally posted September 28, 2002.)  [posted 1/13/05]

Pentecost Psalm
"The liturgy wraps itself around us, baptizes us and we're kissed by its rain, caught up in its fiery chariot, drenched decent, short of breath." A poem by John Paul Davis reflects the burning light of Pentecost. (Originally published May 2002.)  [posted 1/19/05]

Hadeel's Song
A poem by Hanan Ashrawi. (Originally published April 2002.)  [posted 1/20/05]