In His Garden — I am Published Again

Well, I meant to write this weeks ago, but in the midst of my seminary class getting a little hectic and leaving town to welcome my brand new nephew, I have been slacking off a bit. Long story short, I received my second poetry publication in The Way Back to Ourselves in early April, and I am only now making a greater effort to promote myself, the journal, and the other writers who submitted some pieces. With this, I want to give a brief overview of some of my favorite reads from this collection, which you can check out online at thewayback2ourselves.com/journal.

Thorns and Honey by Mariana Mosli

Mariana writes a picture of the garden just after the fall, and in it is a beautiful picture of God searching for us, seeking us out, while we work in the fallen world. It also seems to cover the vast breadth of time between the fall and the second coming while still holding the picture of Adam and Eve, examples of us all, trembling, hidden in the brush. I particularly appreciate this stanza, which describes a beautiful picture of God’s grace and mercy on our trembling flesh:

“Where are you? / Still hiding/ ‘ Still raking rows with trembling hands. / Still learning— / That grace grows best in the dirt. / That mercy tastes like sweat and honey. / That the Gardener was not afraid / to kneel with us in the thorns / and bleed His love into our soil.”

Read the full poem here.

The Praying Tree by Alexis Ragan

Short in length, simple in function, but so deep in imagery, this beautiful poem details Christ as an olive tree in Gethsemane, pressed in agony by the kiss of sin that was meant for us but did not pass from His lips. The depth of meaning behind these lines in particular strike me in my soul:

“But Christ knew / the weight of our eyelids / would collapse in the quiet / agony of a garden that became / the mourning mat of God, /crushed olive of love, sealing / real rest for our nephesh.”

Read the full poem here.

Through Grief and Grace by Edward Holmes

I don’t know that even my own poem in this collection shows how I’ve felt the last year as well as Edward’s does. He gives a beautiful picture of working on something we think God will bless and then watching in helpless grief as He sends rain on us and sunshine on those around us, watching our work wither while others’ flourishes. I only need to quote two lines to get the picture across, but it’s fleshed out more as you read, so check this one out:

“Four seasons of rain filled our solemn loamy soul / while sunlight kissed the bulbs adjacent—”

Read the full poem here.

A Simple Case for the God We Cannot See by Jessica Jolley

This is just that, a case for God, and it’s written so wonderfully through the lens of Jessica’s daily life. I want to point you specifically to the section on suffering:

“My haze, worn-out eyes long to see my Father in the pain, to cry out, ‘Where are you in this?’ I wonder why we must face it and why won’t he stop it? Why it rears its ugly head at the best and the worst of us alike. How it rips and tears and how in the world good can emerge from it still. But there on my porch and in my backyard rest plants that have seen all sorts of battles—yet somehow live. No, not just live. Thrive.”

Read the full essay here.

Morning in the Garden by Elizabeth Wickland

This poem is theologically rich, with imagery of the Father pulling us out of the garden of the earth for His beloved Son. Read, in particular, the last stanza:

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing / since the beginning, / from the moment we were plucked / from the grave, plucked / like a lute, plucked / like a glower / for the gardener’s beloved?”

Read the full poem here.

The Tree at the Beginning and End of Time by Mark Stucky

Here is a poem containing a vision of the tree of life stood in the garden waiting for humanity’s return to taste its fruit. Mark also depicts that time in between Genesis and Revelation with weeping, prayer, sorry, and exile as he marks down the story of humanity from the tree’s point-of-view with an essence of Christ. The last stanza is beautiful:

“Let’s climb that tree together, / resting on its wide branches, / to eat its unforbidden fruit / and use salvific leaves to wipe / sweet juices and salty tears / from our forgiven faces.”

Read the full poem here.

Superbloom by Brit McReynolds

In this poem is the most striking two-liner I’ve read thus far as I’ve perused this collection. This four-stanza poem is a punch in the gut for sufferers to lift our eyes to the God who is always good:

"Does the God who split the rock / through Moses’s staff still live here?"

Read the full poem here.

The Empty Tomb by Bre Strobel

In this poem, we get a picture of the resurrection from Mary Magdalene’s point-of-view, and what a view it is! Bre managed to not only give us a picture from a different angle than the gospels, but she also worked some solid apologetics into it as well. I particularly enjoy the last stanza where the faithful and ready-to-believe Mary demonstrates perfect understanding of Jesus’s patience and man’s folly without condemning:

“John and Peter ran to see for themselves, / Then Jesus appear to them himself. / And because he is patient with our doubts / For those unsure of the open tomb, / He offers us to touch his gaping wounds, / And se that he is with us.”

Read the full poem here.

The Butterfly Pavilion: In the Secret by Megan Huwa

Megan writes in the form of a pantoum, bending words to her will to give us a picture of ashes cast on the roots of a tree, a lament that gives life while the Gardener carries us with Him. I’m only beginning to understand what’s going on in this poem because the imagery is so rich for four, four-line stanzas that end with a picture of the beginning:

“whispering to the roots words unheard: / the dead language of lament. / Your fingers combed the echoes around the tree— / May I carry you with me?”

Read the full poem here.

Fruitful by Amy Buchanan

In 32 words, Amy captures so many things about the Christian life, suffering, fruitfulness, and the appearance of lack. I won’t quote part of the poem because you need to go read it all anyway.

Read the full poem here.

A Mustard Seed by Janice Gibson

Janice gives us a bit of a different view on the mustard seed faith verse so many of us espouse; I find it a theologically steady foundation for just what Jesus meant when He talked about the mustard seed that is enough, for it’s more complex than just a little bit of faith to move mountains:

“A mustard seed / fed daily / by eternal rays of Holy Light. / Absorbing vital hope / comfortably warming, / gently transforming.”

Read the full poem here.

Wonder of a Word by Kristine Amundrud

If you want to talk about a message speaking to me through someone else, this is it. This essay by Kristine is a brilliant exposition on the idea of faith, trusting God to hold everything in his hands. I don’t have children, but these sentences are brilliant regardless:

“Somewhere in the tidepools of grief, I lost my ability to leap before looking. Afraid of one wrong misstep, I bubble wrap my children in the safety of things I can control. Upending the status quo would undo any notion of sway. God, help me to trust you wholly, bravely defying insecurities and mounting waves.”

Read the essay and other poems here.

In the Wilderness by Nathaniel G. Evans

Yes, I do have to shamelessly plug my own poem; I put a lot of effort into it, after all. I’ll leave you with the description I turned into the editors of the journal for my submission and send you to read it:

Despite the title, I feel this poem is uniquely apt for the theme of the Spring Collection of The Way Back to Ourselves, "In His Garden," because it is in the wilderness of my life that God has worked and grown something. I hope this poem provokes in you imagery of the Israelites wandering and Jesus fasting in the wilderness paired with the growth, life, and preparation that God works even when there is nothing but dust and dry bones and despair. Furthermore, I hope you can see the story of my growth that is not yet finished and that it draws you all even deeper into the Father's love.

Read the full poem here.