a ppalling life: 2026

Once we said our year and then “A. D.”
acknowledging the point where Hist’ry turned.
I liked it for myself for I can see
it in my world, and my small life has learned

it by experience, I needs recall
who’s Lord, and owner of “my” time & place -
the big was metaphore for this life’s small..
small scale of something big, which human’s trace.

And now we're trying hard to overlook
all meaning - that might mean we’re not the boss.
We don’t like stories where there is a hook.
We cancel ticks, for they imply a cross.

And on the back of cultures disciplined,
who trained their young quite hard for excellence,
we’ve seen results of not thinking “We’ve sinned!”
by wasting, & for tasting what “made sense”

to little kids with reference-points all skewed.
We didn’t have a chance without “A.D.” -
(don’t think “in words” alone), life is renewed
when humans train - under a coach “in deed”.

And this two thousand & twenty-sixth year
’s gone yesterday. We now start on the next.
We want the prince of life to rule down here
through these small lives at least. We won’t be vexed.

We’ll trust his choices, though they were not ours.
We think he knows a bit more than we do.
But trust his love as well, to use his pow’rs
where he thinks best, to hear our voices too.

Our year ended in A.D., now C.E. -
the Era where we turned a corner in
the hist’ry of our world -we look and see
the Common people changed by glory in

the Common place since he took on our flesh
and blood & bones as well, it’s changed the world.
But it could change back, we could be enmeshed
in fishing nets that also have been hurled

out to catch us for food, to bolster that
insatiable desire - of evil (one)
Not ev’rything that meows is a cat.
Have you learned how to do it, just for fun?

“ As he walked along the shore of the Lake of Galilee, he saw two fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, casting their nets into the water. “Come and follow me, and I will teach you to catch men!” he cried. At once they dropped their nets, and followed him. (Mark 1:16-18)

“to those who by keeping on doing good deeds, seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life,” (Romans 2:7)

Well, Marty, yesterday I stopped a few

times thinking of your birth (some "years" back now)

I heard you had a family time, a "Do"

recalling what God did before you bowed

your head, before his grace and love at work

in his creation of a life which might

be trained by constant choices not to shirk,

but still to bask in strength and love, like light.

And FIRST the gracious love enacts itself,

and THEN we have the chance to model it,

and also "see" what life is like in health,

and "want to" be that way, not just live shit.

And I have seen your choices over time

well some of them at least, by their results

within your life's relationships (& mine -

as they have meshed with friendship) - and with "faults".

For how could we seek glory, honour, or

the immortality we long for with

the longing of a deep ache (even more)

unless we make each ACT* (with kin and kith°),

a training ground, to learn, stand up again.

And I have seen you choose a very BOSS

to be your trainer. So, we don't know "when",

but "if" is not a question while HIS cross

of love (that's demonstrated sure and true)

is each day at your head (as well as heel).

And I am glad to share his life, with you,

another year starts in becoming REAL^.

Celebrating another year laid down, now to be built on..

* “to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life,” (Romans 2:7)

^ thinking of the children's picture book, The Velveteen Rabbit, and the verses quoted above.