There is an imprint of a frog on my back
From a poem by Mary Oliver.
It is sticky sweat oozing down my spine,
Leaking into the small of my back
Screaming, "You do not have to be good."
My own skin whispers back,
"But don't I?" and sears the grime.
I don't know what to do with my own badness.
Punishment for my "sins" seems necessary,
But so does radical acceptance.
All I can do is close my eyes,
Hoping for a better tomorrow where
My brain requires less dopamine
And more compassion.
Slowly I will rise from the grave I dig once a night.
I will claw my way out by my fingers
And into the light.
Shame that no one will be near
To see the resurrection.

Chest heaving, eyes weeping,
The tomb blurs before my eyes.
How is everyone else still sleeping
When my Savior doesn’t arise?

Oh, how the doubt roars within me,
His words now seem to me as His rotting flesh,
“I will rise on day three,”
But his body is now stolen, unless…

Dirt clenching onto my dress,
I fling the tears from my eyes,
Trying to decide if… Yes!
There are people by his graveside.

Angels they must be, all in white,
And before I can confirm their existence, they speak:
“Woman, why are you weeping at this sight?”
My anger flares as I try to control my speech.

“Because my Lord has been taken away,
And I don’t know where his body is.”
I attempt to keep my temper at bay,
Turning away to abate my boiling fears.

Then I see the gardener, and a flash of brilliance
Or desperation rises in me, which one I don’t know,
But as I open my mouth to ask about my Lord’s disappearance,
He speaks: “Why are you weeping woman, why such sorrow?”

Again the same question, yet I cannot form
An adequate response; how can one describe
The loss of Him who can calm the storm,
But now has left my world in turmoil at his sacrifice?

My anger reaches the heavens now,
And in irritation I retort, “If you have taken Him away,
Tell me where He is, and I will take him from thou.”
Chest heaving, eyes weeping, I glance away.

But then I hear my name, soft and sweet but firm,
Two syllables, a clear “Mary!”
And I turn
And my unbridled joy at seeing him turns into “Rabboni!”

I ponder for a second what it’s like to feel
Sadness, for in that split second, it’s gone,
It’s been replaced by rejoicing and zeal,
And I resist the urge to leap with the dawn.

How could I have ever doubted?
Of course His words are true,
It’s a reality that must be shouted,
Yet all I can do is stare at him now that he’s in my view.

“Do not cling to me,” he says earnestly
“For I still must ascend to my Father,
And please tell our friends this, for certainly
I ascend to My God and your God, My Father and your Father.”

It was good he said this, for I had forgotten
In my excitement to see my Savior; I’m sure
His disciples must have wondered whether their Lord had rotted:
“I’m leaving right now, my Savior!”

Sandals rubbing into callouses, lungs heaving,
I ran back to town, through the streets that
Once knew me in despair, grieving,
Hardly stopping, for I had no time to chat.

My Savior has risen, he is alive and well,
He has saved us lost sheep who have gone astray,
And although He no longer on Earth will dwell,
He will never allow us to fully decay.

I’m sure when you die he will call your name too,
With a voice soft and sweet but firm and so true,
And you will go be with Him and He’ll make you brand-new,
And we’ll all live forever from our own Easter morning, too.

I) Eve

Eve became
Foolishly bold
To give up
Her faith in God.

Exhibiting lust
For a tantalizing apple
She opted to be
A dust;
Heeding a snake-
Incarnated
Devil’s word
“If you eat
The forbidden fruit
You will acquire
Wisdom on par with God.”

Duped by Satan
Unfaithful, disobedient
She turned a reason
For the lapse of man.

For lacking faith
She heard,
With jealousy
Her son Kane
****** Her son Abel
To death!
“Eve tarnished
The image
Of the womenfolk!”
We usually hear
In a religious talk!


II) Saint Mary

From Birth to death
Unwavering was
In God
Saint Mary’s faith.

In her youth,
Blind to earthly
Allurements,
When summoned
To serve God
Happy she drew forth
“Displaying alacrity
To the call of
The Almighty
Is my pleasure
My duty!”

Saint Mary knew
Miracles untold
Is capable to do God.

Acid tested like
Aglow set gold
Threatened by
Herod’s sword
Scorned by hypocrites
Hoary headed Christ killers
Her faith she never
Failed to tightly hold.

In Golgotha
The whiplashes all
Were scars on her soul!

Unlike many of us
It is not like a fiction
Or movie script
She witnessed
Christ’s crucifixion.

She reconciled
Man and God,
Till to date
And down the road
This miracle will be told.

She allowed a pride
Womenfolk could ride.

In the catalog of grace
As she won a higher place
In God’s face
Above angels and
Below God
Is the row
She was
Allowed to hold.

Like Saint Gabriel in the sky
Like Elizabeth on earth
Angels and human beings
Praise her why?
Doubt have not I
She is Holy
In a way description
That defy!

III) Devil

Duping Eve
The control on man
Devil got
Thanks to
Saint Mary ‘s obedience,
Before he realized  
The mystery of incarnation,
He lost.

For via
God- Saint Mary’s
Chemistry mankind
Is snatched from
Devil’s grip and fold.

To retaliate
To belittle
Saint Mary
Still a python
A snake,
A sanctimonious preacher,
A faithful
That has gone astray
Devil makes
A frantic bid to date.
In various religious forms
He seeks a vent
To disgorge
His hate.
Oblivious to
The ******'s word
“Generations will
Call me
The graceful, the immaculate…”

IV) God

Via Saint Mary
Once more
The Almighty God
Drew close
Mankind to his fold!

“For use and throw
God use Saints!”
Is the worst mistake
Believers  could make
Eating the poisonous cake
Devil in various
Religious forms bake.///

The Gardener’s Roses
by Michael R. Burch

Mary Magdalene, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, “Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.”

I too have come to the cave;
within: strange, half-glimpsed forms
and ghostly paradigms of things.
Here, nothing warms

this lightening moment of the dawn,
pale tendrils spreading east.
And I, of all who followed Him,
by far the least . . .

The women take no note of me;
I do not recognize
the men in white, the gardener,
these unfamiliar skies . . .

Faint scent of roses, then—a touch!
I turn, and I see: You.
My Lord, why do You tarry here:
Another waits, Whose love is true?

Although My Father waits, and bliss;
though angels call—ecstatic crew!—
I gathered roses for a Friend.
I waited here, for You.

NOTE: I do not believe in Jesus as a “sacrifice” to a primitive “god” who demands the blood of innocents in order to “forgive” sins of his own making through a ghoulish "atonement." But I will not completely discount the hope that love can transcend death, although, like Thomas, I will have to see it to believe it. Keywords/Tags: Jesus, Christ, cave, grave, tomb, gardener, roses, angels, resurrection, Mary, Magdalene, love, heaven

Each day I pray for an ear that will hear
above all the noise clearly His voice.
For while sometimes it's best to be serving with zest,
sometimes it's better to sit for a breather
and wait in his presence and enjoy this true essence
of sitting and being before going and doing.
So while sometimes I'll Martha I know that I'd rather
spend time being Mary, in less of a hurry,
for there at his feet I'll be that more complete
and hear his clear voice above all the noise.

Today - where can I mary and where can I martha?
There is time for both,
but I know which is better.

Adam Lay Ybounden
(anonymous Medieval English Lyric, circa early 15th century AD)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Adam lay bound, bound in a bond;
Four thousand winters, he thought, were not too long.
And all was for an apple, an apple that he took,
As clerics now find written in their book.
But had the apple not been taken, or had it never been,
We'd never have had our Lady, heaven's queen.
So blesséd be the time the apple was taken thus;
Therefore we sing, "God is gracious!"

The poem has also been rendered as "Adam lay i-bounden" and "Adam lay i-bowndyn." Here is the original poem in one of its ancient forms:

Adam lay i-bounden, bounden in a bond;
Foure thousand winter thought he not too long.
And all was for an apple, an apple that he took,
As clerkes finden written in theire book.
Ne hadde the apple taken been, the apple taken been,
Ne hadde never our Lady aye been heavene queen.
Blessed be the time that apple taken was,
Therefore we moun singen, “Deo gracias!”

Keywords/Tags: Middle English, translation, Medieval English, Adam, Eve, Genesis, Garden of Eden, apple, God, grace, gracious, Mary, heaven's queen, Lady, clerics

Miriam wept.
as she gave birth
to her first born son
in the great room
of her parents windowless house
because there was no space
for her in their guest room.

Miriam wept
amidst the smell of
animals lulling in the stables,
the stench of blood and life,
pouring from her womb
in circles of pain, joy
and the fear of death.

Miriam wept
as she swaddled him
in the bands of linen
the midwife gifted her,
now their only rich thing,
and wept again
in the soothing waters of the Mikvah

Miriam wept
remembering the small voice
that had once whispered
inside her with a thousand hallelujahs
and the acclaim of a heaven of angels
proclaiming him the redeemer.

Miriam wept
unaware of the indifferent
shepherds tending their
flock in the sweltering night,
watching the convergence
of Jupiter and Venus
blessing the heavens
all the way to Persia.

And knowing that Miriam
treasured up all these things
and pondered them in her heart-
Jesus wept-
openly on the cross
in full view of her.

This poem is a more realistic and historically accurate version of what the nativity story was really like. As such it diverges substantially from the accounts of Luke and Mark found in the New Testament.

(i) Amen:

Why do ya pray to me? Don't lie!
Which way do ya look up in da sky?
What do ya expect to hear?
What do ya really want to hear?
Many unbelievers, their wanting to see me, so sincere

(ii) Praying:

Are ya still around and about me, my Lord?
Will ya return someday, with one accord?
Are ya really the truth, da whole flaming truth?
Nothing but da truth, the answer, I believed in my youth
Shout out also, to da ******, the one and only, Mamma Mary
I just wish to finally get rid, of this topsy-turvy life
This boy keeps suffering sadness and strife
Without anything real, you know wat I be meaning
My eyes, they seem, to have just stopped gleaming
Give me a sign or an old fashioned message from high above
I'd ask you to give me a little bit of a shove
I just want to believe, in da trinity or you three, above
Before I finally give up, cause I'm all outta love

Stare up at da sky, kneel down in church: No!
Not knowing where to look upwards to pray; No!
Does all humanity, keep searching: No!
Here and there, my God, I need to please me

But I need, to please thee
I need, I want, I need...to please thee
I need, I want, I need...

(iii) Amen:

Why do ya pray to me? Don't lie!
Which way do ya look up in da sky?
What do ya expect to hear?
What do ya really want to hear?
Many unbelievers, their wanting to see me, so sincere


(iv) Hello:

In this life, I've been through hell, so many wrong turns
I learn, then I leave, I miss her loving, so much, it burns
So many ups and downs, I plead, it's still not goin' away
Lonely days, thinking too much, weeping nights, wherever I lay
Arising so late, smashed avocado, a table in the corner, just for one
It's better by myself, three's a crowd, so I go solo, one on one

(v) Careful:

I think I just felt a little shove, of pure love, or so it would seem
A tap on my shoulder, so slight, what does this dream mean?
Were my prayers answered, do I now believe, I cry out
Does it have to be by blind faith, scared of da truth, still having doubt
Da holy ghost, da three from above, show me da signpost
So I can live and feel, get back on da track, first and foremost

Stare up at the sky, kneel down in church: No!
Not knowing where, look upwards to pray; No!
Does all humanity, keep searching: No!
Now and then, my God, I need to please me

I need, to please thee
I need, I want, I need...to please thee
I need, I want, I need...

(vi) Amen:

Why do ya pray to me? Don't lie!
Which way do ya look up in da sky?
What do ya expect to hear?
What do ya really want to hear?
Many unbelievers, their wanting to see me, so sincere.