Softly and tenderly,
Jesus is calling
Cheryl and I sang with the others,
standing on the risers in our choir robes
like Christmas angels on a tree.
Come home, come home,
you who are weary come home
So Cheryl came home
with me to the one-bedroom house
with the rag rugs and
my grandparent's four-poster bed.
It's a Kindness to each other,
something a lady understands can't be a sin;
it's a Kindness, our Mercies to each other,
and if breasts are for babies, then baby, I'm in.
See, on the portals He's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Cheryl sings it in the morning
softly, to herself
with coffee in one hand and keys in the other,
to drive the kids to school on the bus.
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
calling, O sinner, come home!
I'm home already, or as home as I can be
with the cream in my coffee all the sweet that I need;
softly and tenderly...taking care of my own,
and all who are weary, Come home!
___________
just something for Rommy's goose "Virtue or Vice" at Toads.
How beautiful you've woven this tapestry, a treasure to behold and the tenderness of the old hymns, adds a richness to the write.
ReplyDeleteThis gave me goosebumps. The juxtaposition of chorus and content is utterly fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThere are those that may call it a sin, but I call this sublime. The way you played with the hymn, broke it apart to weave a gently sweet love story through the whole thing was wonderful. Mmm,a pleasure to read alongside a good cup of tea today.
ReplyDeleteAw. And all the angels in the upper choir are awed at "if breasts are for babies, then baby, I'm in." The earthly grace here's immense.
ReplyDeleteDisrobed four-poster coffee comfort. Perfecto.
ReplyDeleteHow your talent shines forth in this tender love story. The breaking apart of the hymn and scattered throughout. There is so much grace in this poem, so much love.
ReplyDeletethere is a beautiful rhythm to this... bold and open... great write
ReplyDeleteI hummed this as a song. Loved the lines - all filled with hope.
ReplyDeleteI love it, especially the lines Brendan quoted. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThe hymns are skifully woven between verses. Well wrought
ReplyDeleteMuch🌼love
I agree with others, a beautiful love story told. I, also, like the form you've created, it works perfectly.
ReplyDeleteYes, everything they all said. Soft and tender indeed, and nothing to do with sin.
ReplyDeleteLovely lovely. la la
ReplyDeleteThis poem sings with the kind of tenderness I wish the whole world was made of. It's a chant that raises the kind of energy that heart and soul can feed on. It is love... pure, real, true... showing its face, and smiling. This is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe first two words define the poem, and if I am not able to hear the Jesus frequency, I do hear the hymn, the grace that love contains sung with full heart, and the way that we make ourselves a home. As always, your gift with words makes everything to do with being human in an inhuman world clear and worth it.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is one of my favorite hymns, but I've never heard it quite like this!
ReplyDeleteLove how you weaved the hymn into the story... showing them all that the hymn are for all... heaven is a place on earth
ReplyDeleteRhythmic - hypnotic - with a definite "starch this wimple" just enough of a bite, to keep it from dropping into sloppy sentiment - which means this is truly a love poem. Definitely an offering worthy of the goddess and the gods.
ReplyDelete