Poem of Protest, #10 - O Jerusalem: Grief and Lamentation

Years ago I wrote several poems of protest as I raged against society and corrupt politics.  In the years since then, I have drawn closer to my Faith, traveled elsewhere in the country to experience a domestic mission, became a grandmother four times over, uprooted myself late in life, and watched the world change for the worse.  

My life now centers on hope, prayer, and peacemaking.  I'm not very good at it.  Or perhaps it's not that I fail, but that others fail to hear.  In this time of tearing conflict, when black is white and white is black, I look back on those poems of protest and O, Jerusalem especially called to me.  At the end of 2023 A.D., the suffering in Jerusalem and of the Jews has not changed.  In over 4,000 years, hearts have not softened, minds have not matured, and love and wisdom has not taken their rightful place side by side in the hearts of mankind.

O, JERUSALEM

Temple Mount
Four thousand year veneration
 Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Eleven entrance gates guarded by guns
Ten for Muslims, one for Others
O, Jerusalem

God manifested
Birthplace of Talmud
Birthplace of Adam
Neighbor to the binding place of Isaac
Temple Mount, Stronghold of Zion
O, Jerusalem

Temple Mount
Home of Jewish Temples
Center for  national life
Government, law, religion, economy
O, Jerusalem

First built by Solomon
Destroyed by Babylonians
Second built by Zerubbabel
Destroyed by the Romans
O, Jerusalem

The third still to be built
Holy of Holies
Lost in a sea of stone
O, Jerusalem

Temple Mount
Central importance
from age to age
Usurped by Holy Sepulcher
O, Jerusalem.

Christians left, nature destroyed.
third temple effort
Suffering neglect out of respect
O, Jerusalem

Temple Mount
Seventh-century rubble heap
Muslim conquest
Recovery, Renew, Reclaim
O,  Jerusalem

Dome of the Rock
Al Alsqa Mosque
Occupier of Holy of Holies
O, Jerusalem

Grief and lamentations
Hatred your tool of contempt and power
International body, you had NO right
O, Jerusalem

O, 

Turning A Page

It's mid-November and I've turned 76 years old.  I remember when my mom turned 75 and I had a t-shirt painted for her that said "This is what 75 looks like".  I loved that t-shirt.  She hated it and never, ever wore it.  Was I disappointed? Yes.  Do I wish I had that t-shirt? YES.  I'm proud of my age and proud that I have arrived at 76.  Maybe that's because I've unconsciously struggled for many years to accept that I'm a lovable person but after all these years, but especially the past 7 years, life has become very sweet.

I don't think my mom ever had that turning point in her life.  If she did, she never spoke of it.  She never shared it in even an indirect way.  There was a loneliness about her that I picked up from her and applied to myself.  But, without going into a lot of soul sharing, suffice it to say that finally, at the age of 70, I started the journey that got me where I am today.  

The written word has always been important to me.  Getting lost in reading a good book was my hiding place.  I never went anywhere without having a book with me.  My purse always had to be large enough to hold the basics and a paperback book.  With the advent of cell phones, I dove into reading online through the Hoopla and Libby apps via my library card.  Reading cranked up several notches.  The titles I purchased became more discerning, and my own personal writing became more focused.

Don, my pirate, as I lovingly call him, thanked me for this switch to eBooks for several reasons.  (1.)  I spent less on books; (2.) My Amazon wish list became shorter  but more refined. (3.)  Gift giving was made simple and he knew he would always get it right. And (4.) After I and our daughter BOTH urged him to make his own Amazon Wish List, I think he  finally started listening.  At least I hope he did.

Anyway, back to the point.  When we left California in 2017, I was still blogging but once I arrived at our new home, everything shifted.  My writing helped me focus on the adjustments I had to make to a new and very different life.  Leaving everything that I knew and a small circle of friends for a world where I knew absolutely no one led me to my own personal understanding of the phrase "Stranger In A Strange Land" (Exodus 2:22)  Engaging myself in the local Roman Catholic parish opened the doors to friendship and having been born and raised in California, the first question I got from everyone was "Why in the world did you move here?"  As I got to know this new world and they got to know me (I felt like a new and fun toy at times) I found myself falling in love with the kindness and amiability of the people I was meeting.  My lack of history ran smack into their decades of history with each other and with patience and forebearance I was shown how to connect the dots that is life in a small town.

Soon I had so many stories written, little vignettes of life here as opposed to life back home, I decided to share them in our local weekly newspaper.  For 18 months I submitted weekly columns and the readers lover them.  Stranger would stop me on the street and tell me how they were seeing this little town through a whole new set of eyes and were redeveloping an appreciation for their home.  Eventually, the series concluded but it now lives on in it's own book entitled "A California Girl Meets the Bootheel".  That moment of publication was the moment that I started to sharpen my focus and over time and a few workshops, I found what I liked, a style I felt comfortable with.  

In time, I started to create small writings that centered on prayer, meditations, devotionals, observation on life around me, faith and family.  A website, Catholic 365 came knocking.  Someone found one of my old blogs from 13-14 years ago, liked what they saw, and sent me an invitation to join their community of writers.  After three weeks of thinking about it, I decided to give it a try and you can now find me writing at Catholic 365. I will still be writing here but now it is becoming a place to try out new ideas that I can put out for exploration and be refined for and contributed to my new community of writers.