Dave Peterson {Artist and Poet}
Mercy
Mercy is just an ephemeral wisp
until it latches onto brokenness
Jesus allowed a broken woman to be stoned
by anyone who was whole
But under His penetrating gaze
no one felt unbroken
Newly experienced brokenness allows
mercy to flow out unrestrained
Like a flood covering the whole world
Only soon to be dried up
by our self-righteousness
But not before it enters the hearts
of broken people everywhere
And allows the weight of mercy
to take hold.
Into The Light
Many points of entry lighting a single path
A circuitous passage winding past all humanity
An opening providing clarity
to life’s confusing contradictions
A track leading uphill but without effort
Giving fulfillment along the way
Focusing on the route ahead,
Not the ground below
The entry seems fortunate,
But all according to God’s plan
Jesus everywhere piercing the darkness
Facets of Beauty
Humanity is a raw gemstone
God the jeweler and craftsman
Not knocking off rough edges
But imagining bright new facets
From every peak and valley
From every imperfection and disharmony
Earth a cauldron of diversity
Both living creatures and inert
Nothing inconsequential or forlorn
But elemental and connected to the whole
From worldwide habitats and quarries
From communities wild and civilized
Men and women embody manifold facets of beauty
Each soul precious and unique
Neither expendable nor misshapen
But contributing to the sparkle of existence
From the variety of human backgrounds
From the entire spectrum of subsistence.
La vie en rose
When the world finally turns right-side up
Then life continually cascades like a rushing stream
Thoughts drift by delivering gaiety to the mind
And estatic images bubble up through commonplace froth
Novel tableaus constantly explode all around
Logic and restraint quickly surrender
Chasing away conventional surroundings
And old friends become a fascinating presence
Hues shift to the saturated
Like a specially crafted technicolor movie
Sounds amplify into recurring musical motifs
And smells evoke vivid memories of past
How the soul is meant to be
Invisible angels sing choruses from above
Hurling down showers of heavenly love
La vie en rose