Poetry

“Mountain of My Mind”

“Mountain of My Mind” by Chris Stapleton There’s a destination, I’ve got a ways to goThere’s a revelation that I might never knowSomewhere, salvation is waiting down the roadSo, I think I’ll find a long white lineCurse the world and

Dwight J. Friesen April 15, 2024April 15, 2024

“You Never Know”

You Never Know by Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam) You could make gray, call it gold Let it fool your eyes You could make rain and let it have your life Being green grass, any little wind Begs you

Dwight J. Friesen February 28, 2024February 27, 2024

“Without Love”

Without Love by Kitty Tsui I cannot do without love the way I make myself do without food or sleep or sex  I cannot do without love sometimes I rummage through my papers  scraps of dreams thoughts from long ago

Dwight J. Friesen February 14, 2024September 29, 2023

“Kindness”

Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully

Dwight J. Friesen February 12, 2024February 12, 2024

“Fast Car”

The performance at last night’s Grammy’s that most pulled me in – and I think – stole the show, was Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs “Fast Car” duet. So beautiful. It was sheer joy to watch Chapman play and sing

Dwight J. Friesen February 5, 2024February 9, 2024

“What Was I Made For?”

Last night Billie Eilish performed on Saturday Night Live and I thought it was simply beautiful. What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish & Finneas Baird O’Connell I used to float, now I just fall down I used to

Dwight J. Friesen December 17, 2023January 21, 2024

“…it feels good to be known so well”

True Blue by boygenius You said you wanted to feel alive So we went to the beach You were born in July, ’95 In a deadly heat You say you’re a winter bitch But summer’s in your blood You can’t

Dwight J. Friesen May 27, 2023May 28, 2023

“Love on a Night Like This”

Love on a Night Like This by Josephine Abbot Outside, air is balancing itself. We can hear branches in motion, some twigs breaking, wires like violin strings, trees breathy as bass flutes. The acoustics of friction. The science of equilibrium

Dwight J. Friesen May 12, 2023April 27, 2023

Stations of the Cross

On this Holy Friday I share this thoughtful reflection on the Stations of the Cross by Irish theologian and poet, Pádraig Ó Tuama. He recorded this reflection for the first Holy Week of the COVID era. Pádraig walks us through the

Dwight J. Friesen April 7, 2023November 7, 2022

“River” Leon Bridges

River by Leon Bridges Been traveling these wide roads for so long My heart’s been far from you Ten-thousand miles gone Oh, I wanna come near and give ya Every part of me But there is blood on my hands

Dwight J. Friesen March 24, 2023March 24, 2023

“O Holy Night”

O Holy Night performed by Ben Caplan I have to give a shout out to Zach W. Lambert for his outstanding Twitter thread in which he walks through the story behind “O Holy Night,” highlighting the prophetic invitation of its

Dwight J. Friesen December 21, 2022December 21, 2022

…But I’m Ready Now!

One week left! As a child I found this final week was almost unbearable… anticipation overload! Time off school, gifts to open, gifts to give, fun events in my neighborhood, school, church and extended family. Just a different kind of

Dwight J. Friesen December 18, 2022December 18, 2022

“With or Without You”… again

The other night Bono was the lone guest with Steven Colbert, promoting his new book… a memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. After their conversation Bono inhabited a reinterpreted version of “With or With out You” offering a spoken word

Dwight J. Friesen November 9, 2022December 16, 2022

“How to be Alone”

Over the last couple of days I’ve watched and re-watched this short film/poem by the great Irish poet and theologian, Pádraig Ó Tuama. So beautiful, as is most of what he puts out into the world. The poem is titled

Dwight J. Friesen November 4, 2022November 27, 2022

“For Calling The Spirit Back From Wandering The Earth In Its Human Feet”

For Calling The Spirit Back From Wandering The Earth In Its Human Feet by Joy Harjo Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that bottle of pop. Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control. Open the

Dwight J. Friesen October 10, 2022October 10, 2022

“Poem for the Beings Who Arrived”

Poem for the Beings Who Arrived By Marwa Helal if you ask me where i come from i have to converse with broken wings. this is a line. and all love is agreement, each day of living: an agree or

Dwight J. Friesen October 3, 2022October 3, 2022

Remembering… Nevermind

Thirty-one years ago today – September 24, 1991 – Seattle’s Nirvana released their groundbreaking, sophomore LP, Nevermind… can’t believe that was more than three decades ago! Damn that is one great record. To me Nevermind still feels raw and emotional;

Dwight J. Friesen September 24, 2022September 26, 2022

“God Was Willing Sis: I’m Home”

I have recently found a poet whom I am can’t believe I have lived without until now. Her name is Mona Lisa Saloy. I read Dr. Saloy and something opens inside me. So good, so very good! God Was Willing

Dwight J. Friesen September 14, 2022September 14, 2022

“Go Easy Kid”

So I was listening to KEXP radio and heard the song “Go Easy Kid.” Monica Martin is a new artist to me, and I’m loving what I’m hearing so far. But this song stopped me in my tracks, I had

Dwight J. Friesen August 27, 2022August 31, 2022

“Sidelines”

Loving the latest single, “Sidelines” from Phoebe Bridgers. I just watched the YouTube of performance on Fallon from earlier this week. So good! She released her sophomore LP, called, “Punisher.” I am totally digging her writing and her sound these

Dwight J. Friesen June 17, 2022June 17, 2022

“The Republic of Tenderness”

The Republic of Tenderness by Nathan Spoon You are living inside the cup of another life. Water is running slowly. Somewhere a hand is overflowing with the abundance and celebration denizens dream of. Meanwhile if there is happiness it hangs

Dwight J. Friesen June 9, 2022June 9, 2022

“Wood Working at the End of the World”

Wood Working at the End of the World by Ocean Vuong In a field at the end of the world: a streetlamp shining on a patch of grass. Having just come back to life, I lay down under its warm

Dwight J. Friesen June 7, 2022June 6, 2022

“One More Love Poem”

One More Love Poem by Dunya Mikhail If I had one more day I would write a love poem composed of one word repeated like binary code. I’ll multiply it by the number of days that passed without saying it

Dwight J. Friesen May 12, 2022June 7, 2022

“A Random Act of Kindness”

Not sure exactly why this song calls to me today, but something about it touches a deep place. I hear something of the power of presence, kindness, and relational risk coupled with the real complexities of each new day… and

Dwight J. Friesen May 9, 2022May 9, 2022

“The Last Man on Earth” by Wolf Alice

The other night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Wolf Alice preformed their new song, “Last Man on Earth.” Damn… if that wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’ve heard thus far in 2022. They will be in Seattle later

Dwight J. Friesen March 24, 2022April 19, 2022

35 Years of “Joshua Tree”

Thirty-five years ago today U2 released “Joshua Tree.” Few recordings have impacted me as much as this one did. I don’t think I’d be exaggerating in saying that I’ve listen to it hundreds…maybe thousands of times. I was first introduced

Dwight J. Friesen March 9, 2022September 25, 2022

“wishes for sons”

wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no 7-11. i wish them one week early and wearing a white skirt. i wish them one

Dwight J. Friesen March 8, 2022June 7, 2022

“Miracle of Peace”

I No Longer Pray for Peace by Ann Weems On the edge of war, one foot already in, I no longer pray for peace: I pray for miracles. I pray that stone hearts will turn to tenderheartedness, and evil intentions

Dwight J. Friesen February 25, 2022March 3, 2022

2021 to 2022

Standing at the gateway to a new year – I went back to go forward – I went back to revisit my post at the end of 2020. Here’s the post. Last year my phrase was “Next Year in Jerusalem.”

Dwight J. Friesen December 31, 2021January 1, 2022

“Listening” by William Stafford

Listening by William Stafford My father could hear a little animal step, or a moth in the dark against the screen, and every far sound called the listening out into places where the rest of us had never been. More

Dwight J. Friesen September 29, 2021December 14, 2021