Saints In Waiting
If we were saints
Living the lives of abandoned insects
Under parked cars
With our antennae finely tuned
Into God’s frequency,
We would praise the glories
Of our tiny lives,
The stray fast-food crumbs,
A patch of dew-laden crabgrass.
Behold this mighty river of asphalt,
My children,
And fear not the larger beasts.
We are the chosen,
And through our selfless purity
We shall inherit this earth.
Not long now,
Our time to come.
~ Russ Allison Loar
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Saying The Word
It’s easy not to believe,
To scoff at the personification of God,
The majestic bearded man
Who decides everything,
The prayer specific saints,
The miraculous interceding angels,
The signs and symbols.
But alone in the dark,
Surrounded by the suffering of this world
I find myself praying,
Saying the word.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
Guardian
She walks among us,
Taking physical form for a moment,
Watching.
But when I am particularly low,
When my light is flickering,
She comes closer,
Smiles into my eyes,
Deep,
And I am renewed.
Only later do I realize,
I have seen her again.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
I See Them
There was a rabbit
Loose in the grove.
She taught me how to enter
The silence of its fear
So it would know
My innocence.
There was an old clock
Whose tic and toc
Was heard by those
Who could only imagine me.
She taught me how to travel
Through the sound
Into their hearts.
In spring her orchard was full
Of birds and butterflies.
She pressed her warm fingers
Over my eyes and said:
See from where
All pretty things come.
Her old Siamese
Loved his pie-pan milk
Steaming on the back porch.
One winter he was gone.
I remembered how still he sat
With folded paws
And cloud-blue eyes.
Looking into heaven
He finally found his way,
She whispered,
Close your eyes
And see him.
I see them.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
Reverence
We are taught to revere the old ways
Of our beloved ancestors,
Their ancient wisdom,
Honed over generations
Into this perfect jewel,
Hard,
Prismatic,
Eternal,
An ornament
Worn so proudly by those who know,
Our teachers,
The guardians of all knowledge,
The caretakers of the past.
Impediments.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
The Saints
The saints so often say
We must give up wanting,
Surrender desire,
Disregard comfort,
Give everything to the poor
And live a life of service
To others.
They are like so many in this world
Who choose a path,
Who fulfill a destiny,
Then declare it is the only path,
The only destiny.
Even saints suffer from certainty.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
A Language
The mind says,
Listen to me, I will explain everything.
The heart says,
I understand, but my feelings are unchanged.
The mind says,
This is God and this is life,
All is explained.
The heart says,
I speak a language you do not understand,
A language without words.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
On Christmas Day
Whose birth do we celebrate on this day?
The living embodiment of God?
The only one?
What about you?
What about me?
Even the tiniest blade of grass struggles toward the light.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
The Long March
You can march to the left,
You can march to the right,
You can march down the middle
And dream of your perfect world
Where everyone knows the truth.
You can march to the left,
You can march to the right,
You can march down the middle
But as long as you believe
You are right
And all the rest are wrong
You’ll be marching long,
You’ll be marching long.
~ Russ Allison Loar
© All Rights Reserved
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