Sunday, January 25, 2009

January 25, 2009

I do not want to present an overly romanticized vision of this whole thing, as, for one thing, I am convinced that a more consistent pro-life ethic would allow us to be moved to wonder (and repentance) far more often.

But this morning, I caught a glimpse of Eden and the New Jerusalem as my son, Corbyn Davis Ryland was born at 7:56 a.m. He was 6 lbs. 3 oz., 20 in. long.

I was also profoundly aware of the already-but-not-yet nature of our current existence as I watched my wife labor (a term that I am now sure is a euphemism) to usher him into this world, and could not help but remember (employing the full Christian sense of the word) the woman I heard mourning the loss of her infant 10 weeks ago in a hospital chapel.

The moment was incredibly unspeakable.








Thursday, January 22, 2009

To a ...

You never were normal
but you never knew
That you shouldn't function
like normal folks do

Chalk lines on the asphalt
still no one would talk
Though some read the story
in your tip-toed walk

Your mom shut her eyes
but saw it for sure
Just re-wrote your ending
her sorry-sincere cure

We all remained silent
tongues tied by consent
And maybe that was best
time then was better spent

Mobile: standing and walking
you were able to feel
Emotion in ignorance
though no less real

But the day that they told you
you were a sick boy
a switch flipped inside their heads
that made you unlike their stout son
now you're dependent, decrepit instead

the words, "you sick" didn't do a thing
to wound your fight and confidence
it was the tone of their voice, and loss of your choice
that distressed your belligerence

so late the next evening
when you were not looking
defense slipped out the back door
and left you alone, like your mother's first lover
whom she never sees anymore

since the day that they told you
that you were a sick boy
it's happened just as they've said
you've proved nobody wrong
just showed 'em all right
affirming their arrogance
and promoting doctors to prophets
and by eighteen you will be dead.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Just for Kicks and Giggles

Amy and I are fast approaching the arrival of our son (the due date is 1.29) so I thought it would be fun to hold an impromptu internet pool for our friends who are not close enough/around enough to take part in the one we have going. So, post you best guesses on (1) when the baby will arrive, (2) what he will weigh, (3) how long he will be, and (4) what he will be named. The person who comes the closest in the most categories will receive kind words and blessings in an upcoming post (don't get too excited...many have already guessed).

Here's a hint on the name: it is biblical, but it is not a biblical name.

Grace and Peace.

...

i want to rupture this
but i'm not sure
why
or what this is

i want to break free
of _________
that weights on me

this condition, this order, this extension, this chaos
this introspection
this...
what?
this circumstance, this system, this emphasis,
this holy mess
this thought process
this!
this?

maybe it's sin
a sojourning symbiote leeched deep within some dark
cavern of my soul
that mistakenly feels adopted and at home
as i join an autocatalytic process of fun death

i'd confess it
and concede to your work if only i knew...
what?

maybe it's me

i would bust this thing that confines
me to mediocrity
and explore the possibilities
of who i could be
if only i could define



maybe it's these people
who limit our potential
and repress our passion
with their liberation
pessimism
and sensibility
is "it" mediocracy?

or,
maybe it is
just me
laziness, apathy
(intertia)
l..e.t...h....a.....r.......g...
y