Poetry

“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

“Did You Think I Was A City” by rupi kaur

Did You Think I Was a City by rupi kaur did you think i was a city big enough for a weekend getaway i am the town surrounding it the one you’ve never heard of but always pass through there

Dwight J. Friesen September 16, 2021November 4, 2021

“Staying Alive” by David Wagoner

Staying Alive by David Wagoner Staying alive in the woods is a matter of calming down At first and deciding whether to wait for rescue, Trusting to others, Or simply to start walking and walking in one direction Till you

Dwight J. Friesen September 7, 2021November 4, 2021

“Love Does That” by Meister Eckhart

Love Does That by Meister Eckhart All day long a little burro labors, sometimes with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries about things that bother only burros. And worries, as we know, can be more exhausting

Dwight J. Friesen September 6, 2021November 4, 2021

25 Years Ago

This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the great records of all time – in my opinion – Beck’s Odelay. Lynette and I went to this show when he came to Seattle… amazing. Beck is not only a

Dwight J. Friesen August 20, 2021November 8, 2021

“Lost”

Lost by David Wagoner Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known.

Dwight J. Friesen July 8, 2021November 8, 2021

Joy Oladokun

Breathe Again by Joy Oladokun The Devils in the basement in my homeA flight of stairs is way too closeHe comes for me when I’m aloneCollecting debts that I don’t oweFollow me down where the waters run deepI’ll let you

Dwight J. Friesen May 23, 2021April 23, 2024

“The Guest House” by Rumi

The Guest House by Rumi This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are

Dwight J. Friesen April 23, 2021November 20, 2021

“Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon

Where I’m From By George Ella Lyon I am from clothespins, from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride. I am from the dirt under the back porch. (Black, glistening it tasted like beets.) I am from the forsythia bush, the Dutch elm whose

Dwight J. Friesen April 6, 2021November 20, 2021

Start Close In

Start Close In by David Whyte Start close in, don’t take the second step or the third, start with the first thing close in, the step you don’t want to take. Start with the ground you know, the pale ground

Dwight J. Friesen April 2, 2021November 21, 2021

Poet: Spencer Reece

At Thomas Merton’s Grave by Spencer Reece We can never be with loss too long. Behind the warped door that sticks, the wood thrush calls to the monks, pausing upon the stone crucifix, singing: “I am marvelous alone!” Thrash, thrash

Dwight J. Friesen March 19, 2021November 21, 2021

It’s My Birthday!

52 years ago today Ben & Rosella and my older sister Michelle (my younger brother – Dallas – wasn’t yet on the scene) welcomed me into the world. It was the same year humans first stepped on the moon; the

Dwight J. Friesen March 3, 2021October 28, 2022

“The Old Lie”

Dulce et Decorum Est  By Wilfred Owen Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men

Dwight J. Friesen March 2, 2021November 22, 2021

“God Would Kneel Down”

GOD WOULD KNEEL DOWN by St. Francis of Assisi I think God might be a little prejudiced. For once He asked me to join Him on a walk through this world,and we gazed into every heart on this earth, and

Dwight J. Friesen February 14, 2021November 22, 2021

I Wish None of this Had Happened

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is

Dwight J. Friesen January 26, 2021February 8, 2024

“The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman  Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Emhoff, Americans and the world. When day comes we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry asea

Dwight J. Friesen January 20, 2021November 8, 2021

“If”

If Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,    But make allowance for their doubting too;

Dwight J. Friesen January 5, 2021November 8, 2021

“Penny Rabbit & Summer Bear”

Penny Rabbit & Summer Bear by Kishi Bashi Under the ocean, far from the sun Penny Rabbit, wondering “When will we ever become one? Must I suffer days to come?” Fresh out of wishes, fate wouldn’t dare He had to

Dwight J. Friesen January 3, 2021August 31, 2022

Poet, Natalie Diaz… Wow!

Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation by Natalie Diaz Angels don’t come to the reservation. Bats, maybe, or owls, boxy mottled things. Coyotes, too. They all mean the same thing— death. And death

Dwight J. Friesen December 20, 2020November 24, 2021

“Singularity (After Stephen Hawking)”

SINGULARITY by Marie Howe           (after Stephen Hawking) Do you sometimes want to wake up to the singularity we once were? so compact nobody needed a bed, or food or money — nobody hiding in the school bathroom or home alone

Dwight J. Friesen November 22, 2020August 31, 2022