Each night before bed, my wife feeds our cat treats. Watching the two of them one night led me to meditate on how preposterous God’s plan seems at times—particularly the way He loves, cares for, and intervenes with us who couldn’t care less for Him much of the time. My mind wandered to Daniel chapter…
Category: Poetry
Excommunicated
This post is also available as a podcast: https://anchor.fm/teague-mckamey/episodes/Excommunciated-e1mh1nb “Excommunicate” is a word meaning “exclude from communion.” Ideally, excommunication would be used to eject harmful people from the church as a protective measure. Historically, it has been used for this and for other, less savory reasons. For example: let’s say you’re a powerful church leader…
Sabbath
This post is also available as a podcast: https://anchor.fm/teague-mckamey/episodes/Sabbath-e1k2hr6 Sabbath This is what I would do— if Mammon’s pointing shadow didn’t turn the world into a sundial— I would wake when I woke. I would read in the morning shadows, making room for a cat between my blanketed knees. I would get up when I…
Thy Way, Not Mine, O Lord
This post is also available on The Voice of One Podcast: https://anchor.fm/teague-mckamey/episodes/Thy-Way–Not-Mine–O-Lord-e1idi52 I’ve been reading The Oxford Book of Christian Verse, and came across a work by Horatius Bonar: “Thy Way, Not Mine, O Lord.” Though presented as a poem in the book I’m reading, I discovered it is a hymn. (Listen here). Bonar’s words…
Published in Heart of Flesh Journal!
In 2020, the Lord prompted me to be more intentional about writing and reading poetry. One aspect of that has been submitting poems to journals. I am happy to say that, by August, I will have had three poems published! (If you’d like to learn more about my poetry, visit my poetry blog: A Wandering…
Desert Flower
Flowers mentioned in the Old Testament have often been used as images of Jesus. “Lily of the valley” and ”the rose of Sharon” come to mind. I haven’t done an in depth study on seeing Christ in the flora of the Bible. But I’m sure it would be interesting. Below is a poem I wrote…
Another blog??
At the beginning of the year, I shared that the Lord nudged me to invest more in poetry. One step was to self-publish a book of poems, The Wind and the Shadows. Prayerfully, I have taken other steps this year, including submitting poems to journals. I have submitted to four journals so far, and I’m…
And Death Shall Have No Dominion
Last year, I became acquainted with a poem by Dylan Thomas called, “And Death Shall Have No Dominion.” Like Thomas’s other poems, it is filled with dense and sometimes startling language. I doubt I understand it any more than I understand Thomas’s other poems. But I try 😉 The quality of Thomas’s faith also isn’t…
Comfort in Extremity—Christopher Harvey
I am reading through The Oxford Book of Christian Verse. Over the years, I have enjoyed a number of Christian poets from Ben Jonson to Mary Karr. This volume contains favorite poets like John Donne and George Herbert, plus many others I’ve not read. This past week I read a poem by Christopher Harvey, a…
The Resurrection of the Dead
The Resurrection of the Dead* Sown: thrown away into the worm-infested (you ain’t nuthin’ but) dirt Corruption: third-world police, a computer with a virus, a bike chain in the rain. Dishonor: a soldier discharged, a kamikaze who lived, an effigy smoldering. Weakness: addiction’s reason, indecision’s fancy, the thread we hang by. Raised: a flower bursting…
The Voice of One 