Friendship

So many friends ...
my life enriched by folks
I've met only on social media - most
are expansive in their take on things,
appreciative of art and history, science and prayer ...
with room in their souls
for the world,
for diversity,
for the commonplace and the unusual ...
eager to learn ...
lovers of books ...
when's the next trip?
who will go?
all of us.
you bet.

Art and Politics

It's all politics, really.
Art and preaching.
Writing and care.


It's how we think.
Shaped by the place of our birth.
The moments of hurt and happy.


The news we absorb.
The times, the stress and strain.
It's called history.


The stuff we live.
Our lives in private.
Or public.


The faith we profess.
Or deny.
Or somewhere in between.


We like a candidate.
They fit with our values.
What we hold to be true.


We see a world.
And say, "Go that way."
And that's politics.


Art is always expressing what the artist sees.
And what the artist sees is shaped by the soul.
A soul shaped by a billion small things.


A soul that can be dark and sad.
Or bright and confident.
Or, as is so much of life, somewhere in between.