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Songs of Praise and Worship
As a child, I would stand
With the other children.
We would sing songs of praise
And worship—God's kingdom.
The words pulled at our young,
Temporal, pure spirits—
Innocent spheres of soul
That had yet to mature.
We would bow our small heads,
Close our hands and say prayers.
The preacher would instruct
And show us what to say.
We didn't understand
Biblical passages and
We didn't comprehend
What all God's stories meant,
Or at least I couldn't—
Though I tried and longed to.
The other children would
Close their eyes, outstretching
The soft palms of their hands
And feel God's presence in
Their stubby fingertips
As if they could reach Him.
They would cry. Their bodies
Would rock and move like some
Divine rhythm could quake
The floor where we all stood.
They would smile, enraptured
And captured by the songs—
Dancing with the angels.
Three minutes with God's wings.
Holiness percolated
Inside them. Not in me.
They simmered in God's warmth
While I was unheated.
The fires that burned in them
Refused to spark in me.
My spirit was tepid—
Still against the hot pan.
When the songs had finished,
They would tremble and shake,
The ground lifting beneath
Them, if just for one song.
When they closed their clear eyes,
They could see their heaven.
When I did the same thing,
I saw my dark eyelids.
poem
by
Tim Stensloff
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