#church poems on Hello Poetry

Erin Hankemeier May 2014

Does Heaven Have A Phone Number? (Anonymous)

Mommy went to Heaven,
but I need her here today,
My tummy hurts and I fell down,
I need her right away!
Operator, can you tell me how
to find her in this book?
Is Heaven in the yellow part?
I don't know where to look.
I think my Daddy needs her too,
at night I hear him cry.
I hear him call her name sometimes,
but I really don't know why.
Maybe if I call her
she will hurry home to me.
Is Heaven very far away?
is it across the sea?
She's been gone a long, long time,
she needs to come home now!
I really need to reach her,
but I simply don't know how.
Help me find the number please
is it listed under "Heaven"?
I can't read these big big words,
I am only seven.
I'm sorry operator, ,
I didn't mean to make you cry,
Is your tummy hurting too?
or is there something in your eye?
If I call my church maybe they will know.
Mommy said when we need help
that's where we should go.
I found the number to my church
tacked up on the wall.
Thank you operator,
I'll give them a call.

"Does Heaven Have A Phone Number?" (Anonymous) is about a young child whose mother has died. The child needs to reach her, but does not know how. The child calls the operator for help. The child does not know where Heaven is, or why his/her mother is there. The child needs her RIGHT AWAY so he/she decides to call her at Heaven. The child remembers his/her mother telling him/her that if he/she is ever in trouble he/she should call the church for help.

I recited this piece for a speech competition a few years ago. I everybody in the room speechless and in tears. I hope whoever reads this will be as moved as I am!

Enjoy!

#home #cry #mommy #daddy #heaven #sea #anonymous #church #seven #number #operator

Will Rogers III May 2014

The Tree

We don't know what say the clock,
For we are too busy, we are alone.
We know not where we walk
'Till we look up from our phones.

How, then, are we to see where our lives are headed?
How, then, are we to see that we are embedded?

What I saw; it's not as I once knew.
What I practiced; it's not how I once grew.
I stood as a growing, but bending tree.
Only to be awakened by a strange and different breeze.

I go now to plant my roots elsewhere,
I go now in search of a different air.
My fellow trees, I hope, will still be within reach,
That our branches' bonds will not grow weak.

I pray that He leads me with His staff,
That I will listen to His will for me.
I hope that I will not be like the chaff,
But instead, by streams of a new water, be like the tree.

[composed on February 26, 2012, revised on March 22, 2012]
This was written soon after I left a church group I found to be unhealthy for me.

#god #alone #time #tree #unsure #growth #searching #cult #church #awakening

Will Rogers III May 2014

Mind in Two

My mind is split in two,
One side: yes, the other: no.
My thoughts; they are not few,
The truth; I do not know.

I thought that it was done,
I thought that I'd be free.
But now I know I am but one,
Now I am in misery.

I wish the answer was clear,
So that I could move on in life!
Why can I not hear?
Why am I thinking twice?

Is this truly the way?
Or am I the one wrong?
Should I be in dismay?
Or should I be in happy song?

I wish I knew what to do.
I wish I knew which is skewed.
Is it me?
Or is it you?

One side, "He is testing you for sure"
The other, "You really do belong there."
One side, "You have been very mature!"
While the other, "You don't have to live in affair!"

What do I do?
Do I seek advice, do I tell them nice?
What do I do?
Do I write an angry review? Alas, it's 1:42.

I wish that I could sleep,
So that church I could attend.
I wish I was dreaming deep,
That I'll wake up with things amended-
("..ed" attached to the next line "Did" as if God is interrupting)

"Did I not tell you to leave?"
"Yes Lord, but why is this happening to me?"
"Stay calm William, and breath."
"Ok, but where shall I be like the tree?"

Is this for a reason?
Will this come to pass?
Or should I indulge in sin
To take my mind off this mass?

Oh God help me!
Oh Satin leave me for once!
Now my head is in pain,
I fear I am not sane.

It is now 2:52
And my mind, still split in two.

It is now 3:32
And my mind still split in two.

It is now 3:52
And my mind still split in two...

My breathing slows.

I fade to silence.

In my blanket I enclose.

My mind dreams and finds false assurance.

[composed on February 4,2012, revised on March 22, 2012]

#sin #lonely #god #anxiety #lost #confusion #leaving #church

AavelinaJaden May 2014

flower girls

Her name was petunia
She had hair the color of twilight settling after a hurricane and irises darker than the moon
Her smile was the crescent that the stars sung for
her fingers as dainty as China ware on the finest plates
Shy as werewolves howling for comfort
and brave as the wind dusting the horizon
She never did understand why her mother named her after something as petite as a flower
She couldn't understand her own beauty

Daisy; nose as freckled as the beach is sandy
Wrists as worn as the pages of a librarians favorite book
Sundays sunny as the sunflowers she wore on her church dress
inconspicuous was the boy she held hands with under the pews
Hated her parents for her wretched name
she murmured between kisses with the preachers son
the devil himself wasn't a flower, but a ****
Took her life the day he was baptized
A flowers life is not the life for me, said daisy

Rose
The beautiful of the most
with red lies that'd set your heart to flames
She'd burn down every field
and ***** every finger of those who kissed her lips
Ivory skin of leaves so green
envious of those who weren't picked, and pitied, and deprived of their innocence and privacy
Just because fate handed her the life of lust and friends of petunias and Daisy's who never made the cut

#love #suicide #poetry #heart #death #nature #beauty #flower #green #devil #girls #*** #spring #rose #envy #church #daisy

Steven Hutchison Apr 2014

16 of 30 - Pew and Chosen

Engage
Ignite
the blood needs stirring
the legs have fallen dumb
stupor of monotony
has nestled into hips
wake these automatons
shake the dust from their harps
break beds and shred pillows
it’s possible that the very sight of feathers
might spark a memory of flight
these lifeless were not stillborn
these were once vivid
there is an epic in each of their wrinkles
each one of their tongues
once rang like bell towers
from hilltop carnal cathedrals
there are mountains they have stood on
that you have yet to reach
be careful not to judge a valley
without first considering
why it’s not called a plateau
these are atoms waiting to be split
waiting to rupture
to quake
to rip through the popular tapestry
waiting for their chance to be contagious
be contagious
these are already on death row
unaware of their slumber
ritual has rocked them gentle and slow
and habit is a cozy cradle
Engage
Ignite
spark passion in dried up timbers
gathered like kindling in foxholes
these have been lovers
for a forgotten number of years
these once meant ‘I do’
there is a sedative nostalgia
glazing their smiles
these are not now, but then
break hourglasses
and storm the new beach
raise flags in the motherland
bearing family crests
speak warpaint
sing fire
compose your battle cry
from their fragmented vitality
arouse in these
a memory of their first love
awaken the giants
that have fallen asleep
pull the plug
let them die or breathe
but let us see
who is and who isn’t
a sepulcher

#poetry #christian #church #napowrimo

AD Sifford Apr 2014

Good Job, Christian

Good job!
You went to church for Grama on Sunday

...And you texted the whole service

Good job!
You helped out and watched your siblings

...And showed them R-rated movies

Good job!
You wore a Bible verse T-shirt to school

...After buying it with stolen cash

Good job!
You got a purity cross necklace to wear

...Then "hooked up" that same night

Good job!
You got a brand new Bible

...And stored it under your bed with the rest of your " junk"

Good job!
You visited your church's website

...And bookmarked it right beneath *******

Good job!
You went to that Bible-study group

...And afterward, to a party

Good job!
You turned down a smoke while you were there

...'Cause at the time you were just thirsty

Good job!
You prayed at the dinner table

...To get your turn over with for the week

Good job!
You call out to God before falling asleep

...To blame Him for your problems

Good job!
You plan on going to church again tomorrow

Just don't forget your cell-phone

Good job, Christian
Keep it up.

|Written 2010|
*from my Emerge collection, being poem #7. Please see the collection page itself.

This poem is one I've never felt quite satisfied with, yet it's a concept I want to address in this same basic form. Now that my poetry and mind has matured more, I may re-write this as a new poem addressing the issue I intended to in this one, in an improved, or heavier, more emotional, or more clear way. I'm not sure.
Line 18 originally said "under *******", but I thought that could come across as the bookmark bearing that name, rather than the new bookmark being beneath it in the least, to signify lesser priority as added weight to the hypocrisy.

© 2017 A.D. Sifford.
I'm okay with you sharing my poetry, I just ask that you show courtesy by being honest and attributing it to my name. Thank you,
- Sifford

#sin #life #religion #christian #hypocrisy #christianity #church

LJ Chaplin Mar 2014

Mercy

Can you hear the church bells ring?
Hollow footsteps that cascade through
The empty pews and end inside
The confessional stand,
Stained glass windows refract rays of sunlight
And projects a radiant glow upon a thousand
Prayers that are intertwined with the aroma
Of polished wood and frail pages of the bible,
The Lord works in mysterious ways
I tell myself as I trace my steps down the alter
Where you left me.
I feel the phantom shadow of his embrace
Trail behind me,
Never losing sight,
Never letting go,
And yet I still fall to my knees
And pray for mercy,
I have not sinned,
Nor have I failed to ignore
My calling,

But even the most loyal of angels
Must have their wings clipped
*And their innocence stripped clean.

#love #loss #holy #imagery #angels #symbolism #religious #church