Written this morning. I was so bummed about being confined to bed and missing Easter services, and this was my spiritual exercise for the day… Big day for Christians, but every day should be a day to celebrate each other, hand in hand, faith joining faith to seek peace in this troubled world. This will also be at Poetic Asides, where Robert asked for prayer poems. Amy
New To This Church
He hangs out near the front door,
unsure about entering, what with
seeing men in suits and ties and
women dressed up, hats and all.
And here he is in raggedy jeans
and a tie-dye shirt his buddy gave him.
The VOA fixed him up with an army jacket
and boots broken in so much, they’re almost broke as he is.
He considers his options: Lingering on another park bench
like the one he slept on last night…
Or maybe he’ll leave to find Gus and Sandy
near that cheap coffee shop again.
An old lady sniffs as she passes.
He must smell a little ripe.
“Well, it’s Sunday, I’ll give it a try.”
And as he slips inside, Jesus takes a seat in the back pew.
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Also published at Writer’s Island (My April Poem a Day home) and Poets United. Please click these links to discover a lot of talented poets!
Sharp Little Pencil 
booguloo
Simply beautiful.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Michael. Hope it made some churchgoers think about their “All Welcome” signs! Amy
lunawitch15
I wanted to thank you.
because of you not only do I have the title for that epic poem,
But I also have the title to my book as well. ( ok one of them.)
http://lunawitch15.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/1092/
I hope this helps you to feel a little better.
hugs.
Luna
Sharp Little Pencil
Luna, thank you so much for this lovely compliment. Glad I was able to help you sort out a title. You do fine work! I’ll bop over and see your post. Amy
lunawitch15
so do you. I love your poetry. 🙂
lunawitch15
I truly hope that you are coping well with your ptsd and i had to do the same with my two girls. My eldest already had an idea due to I used to bring her with me to shelters and schools to talk about abuse. It is a hard thing but I believe knowing helps them in life. You are very strong and I congratulate you!
I don’t know how to help people anymore, thats why I started my blog, so hopefully people like us know that we are not alone and it’s ok to hurt.
please feel better soon and you are always welcome to email me.
Big Hug.
Luna
nightdreamers4@yahoo.com
or
bellaluna1538@gmail.com
Sharp Little Pencil
You are truly a sister in the fight against stigma and the unearned guilt we survivors often carry. Especially those who don’t yet realize what happened to them, it’s buried so deeply. And as far as “I don’t know how to help people anymore,” your blog is doing EXACTLY that. Hold your head high, Luna. You are doing more than you know, for more people, a wider audience, a world craving acceptance and love and understanding. Love, Amy
Tilly Bud
That’s a cracking last line!
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha! “Cracking,” that’s a comment I haven’t heard since I left Bermuda. Thanks, Linda! Amy
Debbie
So sorry you are STILL sick. 😦 I will celebrate this poem and Jesus with you today. Thank you and praying for healing and health, comfort and peace . . .and lots and lots of love.
timkeen40
Amy,
Thought provoking as usual. I do wish more would look a little deeper into themselves, to see the difference between their tightly held beliefs and the truth.
http://timkeen40.wordpress.com
Sharp Little Pencil
You grasped perfectly the point of this poem, Tim. Thank you so much! Amy
Paul Andrew Russell
A lovely poem, Amy. I especially like that last line; beautiful. 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Paul. This resonated with more people than I thought it would! Amy
Roger Green
Missing Easter – bummer!
christine
Jesus takes a seat in the back pew. Wow, this was great and a great ending line. I grew up in a church like that, now I wear jeans and sometimes torn ones to the one I go to now. We should see the heart not the dress code when accepting people through those doors.
Sharp Little Pencil
Girl after my own heart. I’m the pastor’s wife, and I wear jeans most of the time. Trying to convey, especially to our youth, that’s it’s not about dressing up, it’s about SHOWING UP. And then going out and living it. You are exactly on target, and I thank you, Christine! Amy
Altonian
Thanks Amy, for giving me the link to your lovely poem. That’s the kind of guy I would give my seat up for if the Church was crowded – or take him to my favourite spot in the woods, to hug my favourite tree.
Sharp Little Pencil
Either one or both work for me! That guy is a beauty, and I hope he comes in and sits by me! Amy
Eileen O'Neill
Dear Amy,
This has got to be one of the most beautiful and genuine poems, which I have ever read.
A real piece of honest writing and a true feeling of the REAL spirit of being a Christian.
Thank you for your beautiful Easter words,
Best wishes, Eileen
I have your Blog on my list, so now I am aware of your poems much sooner!!!
Sharp Little Pencil
Eileen, I have you on my list as well, under “I Love These Poets”!
Thank you for a heartfelt, meaningful comment. Easter words beat bonnets any day!! Amy
brenda w
Amy, The ending is unexpected. Imagine a world where we treat every person we meet as if we expected them to be Jesus. I love this piece, I do. Thank you.
~Brenda
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much, Brenda. That’s exactly what I was going for. Food for thought for those churches where the “All Are Welcome” sign should have an asterisk:
* except the following: gays and lesbians, single mothers, anyone who is not our color…
Kim Nelson
This is ideal for the day, Amy.
Hope you’re up and about quite soon.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thought that, since I was too sick at the time to attend services, this irreverent poem was the least I could do…! Thanks, Kim.
Mr. Walker
This is hopeful, which all prayers should be. I hope he finds what he is looking for and that he is welcomed. By the way, I love that last stanza. Hope you start feeling better soon.
Richard
Sharp Little Pencil
Am back to full-tilt mode. Look out world! And I feel this poem represents what Jesus would look like, should he be out and about these days… the equivalent of robe and sandals. Thanks, Richard! Amy
Sherry Blue Sky
Oh I so love this one, Amy! Right on!
Sharp Little Pencil
You know me so well! Amy
Elizabeth
Beautiful – and, sadly, so true in so many of our churches. x
Sharp Little Pencil
Amen, sister!
A.M. Trumble
I want to circulate this poem at my church. thank you.
Sharp Little Pencil
Be my guest. Then when they kick you out, you can come to my church, LOL. Amy
beespoetry
Wow! 🙂 Love the poem. Five stars!
Yeah… some folks don’t quite practice what they preach eh?
I was going to do some big ol’ pointed comment about what it means to be Christ-like in everyday life, and why so many “Christians” bother me because of the close-mindedness, and some nonsense about a quotation attributed to Gandhi, but I’m still wiped out from being sick. Maybe later, haha, when I have the fortitude to fend off the people who will fire off emails to bitch at my attitude.
Sharp Little Pencil
You’ve been sick, too? I missed Lex’s first Easter sermon at our new church. As for the moniker of “Christian,” I’m of the mind that if you live out of LOVE, the path you choose is just that – your choice. If we spent more time on the loving part and less on judgment and the “I’m Goin’ To Heaven And You’re Not” gibberish, we’d all be a lot better off, as a people and as a world in general! Amy
beespoetry
Oh man, do we share the same brain wavelength or what?
I didn’t ever get the whole “heaven is an exclusive club, with a dress code, and YOU are not on the list” mentality. And I was stuck in Catholic school for like… a decade and a half. (the gay thing wasn’t so much fun there)
It seems so stupid to bicker about one little slice of Christianity being better or worse than the other when what’s really important is being left to the wayside: being a whole human, spiritual and emotional and physical and loving and all that jazz. (musical too, heh)
Sharp Little Pencil
I am loving this comment, Bee. It is hard, being a pastor’s wife and conveying these feelings to members, that they must be careful not to exclude. Fortunately, we are an Open and Affirming church and have LGB and yes, T members! We all act the same, that is, we all hug each other and greet and worship together, but the holistic truth is this: I don’t think Jesus is the Only Way. I think if you live out of love, every path is the right path for each person. A big hug to you, Amy
iblogmoore
this is so interesting… I have always felt that you just never know who that person that walks into your life might be, treat them as you want to be treated. And you totally nailed the feelings that can wash over trying to join in as the “new guy” especially a church, this is a fantastic piece of work!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving such an affirming comment! A lady who used to work in a soup kitchen with my husband used to say, “Jesus is coming to supper today. You may not recognize him in the face of that man or woman, so treat them all like they are Jesus.”
contemplativemoorings
Very interesting twist at the end 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much! Food for thought…
Buddah Moskowitz
Ameleh, loved the twist at the end – didn’t see it coming, and when it showed up, it was a kick in the head – much like Christ coming into my life. – thanks, el mosk
Sharp Little Pencil
Nice analogy, Mosk! Thanks for this. Think I might have p.o.ed a few Christians. At least, that was my intent, if only to get folks thinking about the subtle and not-so-subtle ways of exclusion in the mainstream church. Love, A
Nina
Easter was a tough day on PAD. It is a gift to come to this fresh, out of the clutter, but to hear, at the same time, the tensions that make the Jesus Way always cutting edge.
Sharp Little Pencil
Easter was touch for me in general, as my husband was preaching his first sermon at a new church without me in the front pew (bronchial infection). But the true meaning of Easter came alive for me as I experienced a resurrection of sorts by recovering… Christ is risen indeed! Amy
Sherry Blue Sky
I love this one so much, Amy. YES!!!!
Sharp Little Pencil
If only Christians saw it that way… ya know? Thanks so much, Sherry. Love, Amy