Seth Gatchell
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Oh, Independence Day! Blessed Declaration! The law above a king, blessed separation! Inalienable rights, endowed by the Lord God. Truths that we will hold dear. The governed have the nod. And for seven long years, a war of attrition. Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill, Concord and Lexington. Fort Ticonderoga, Trenton and King’s Mountain, Bloody…
AMERICAN HEROES
Monroe, Hancock, Knox, Jay, Franklin and Washington, Benjamin Rush, Sherman, Jefferson, Hamilton. Minutemen, patriots, Swamp Fox, Ticonderoga, Bunker Hill, Tea Party, Yorktown, Saratoga.
Refuge
High, atop a mountain, a place of comfort, there. A beautiful blue sky, puffed clouds, crystal clear air. Aspen leaves fluttering, a mountainside of red, I hear a rushing stream, grass and leaves for a bed. Away from grizzly bears, far from timber crashes, Away from hellish winds, far from lightning flashes. My place…
Connecting
Magnets connect each time, Easy as when words rhyme. But people connecting? Difficult effecting! Detecting. Objecting? Respecting. Reflecting? Directing. Correcting? Expecting. Injecting? Disheartening, And heartbreaking, Demoralizing, And frustrating, Disappointing And sobering. Learning, humbling, Praying, stumbling. Enjoying. Stumbling. Delighting. Fumbling. Giving. Bumbling. Grateful. Humbling.
THE THREE HARDEST WORDS TO SAY
Three words you rarely hear? You may never have heard? … Not from politicians, and not from “journalists,” Not drivers in their cars, and not from the “critics.” Not from all-star athletes nor from “celebrities,” Not colleagues at your work, nor from your families. … Parents expect their kids to utter these three words. Everyone…
A CERTAIN KIND OF COMMUNITY
“Who needs the church?” we think. “It’s me and Jesus now.” “My faith’s something private. Them? Holier than thou.” “Too many hypocrites!” (“Oh, I’m not one,” I moan.) “I’ll go when I want to. I’ll do this on my own.” Privacy reigns supreme in western culture, now. “To be isolated? It’s much ‘simpler’ and…