May 2014
St. John, I saw you each morning.
Taken for granted as this Sunday sun rises
Throwing a long shadow away from Bird St. on a day like any other, otherwise.
Barely aware of birds nervously fluttering across leafy branches in warning.
St. John, I still see you, but you're fading away.
As I rushed in from Dillons,
I took one last look toward the swirling gray.
and saw you enveloped by an angry exhale at the end of this day...
no longer like any other.
St. John, we find you inside us
and we won't let you go.
The shadows of so many lives cast upon your living walls.
We were born here,
we came in sick,
and some of us left well,
while others left with you
as you served your last full measure of devotion.
Your restoration is now our mission and the wheels are in motion.
Taken for granted as this Sunday sun rises
Throwing a long shadow away from Bird St. on a day like any other, otherwise.
Barely aware of birds nervously fluttering across leafy branches in warning.
St. John, I still see you, but you're fading away.
As I rushed in from Dillons,
I took one last look toward the swirling gray.
and saw you enveloped by an angry exhale at the end of this day...
no longer like any other.
St. John, we find you inside us
and we won't let you go.
The shadows of so many lives cast upon your living walls.
We were born here,
we came in sick,
and some of us left well,
while others left with you
as you served your last full measure of devotion.
Your restoration is now our mission and the wheels are in motion.
I wrote this after volunteering Joplin, Mo two months after the devastating tornado that struck there. That day I was working on bringing down the remains of a home...the groceries, from Dillons, still on the kitchen table. The house was located just a few blocks away from St. John's hospital. We brought down the house the following morning, but my trips to Joplin after this were to help, in a very small way, rebuild and restore. It's an honor and privilege to volunteer there...and I encourage anyone and everyone to help out there.
#RebuildJoplin
#RebuildJoplin
