tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910291709965283166.post220290003740280259..comments2024-01-14T12:04:49.488-05:00Comments on Behind the Lines: Poetry, War, & Peacemaking: Sand Opera Lenten Journey Day 40: A Word That Will Rouse Us + Deema ShehabiPhilip Metreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05449159681282927289noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910291709965283166.post-75081631201062637132016-03-22T09:59:17.882-04:002016-03-22T09:59:17.882-04:00Thanks, Maureen. I love "A God in the House&q...Thanks, Maureen. I love "A God in the House"--for sure. I'll check out Peggy's book!Philip Metreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05449159681282927289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910291709965283166.post-53722345656944360502016-03-21T16:41:36.402-04:002016-03-21T16:41:36.402-04:00Thank you for this Lenten series, Phil. I think i...Thank you for this Lenten series, Phil. I think it has been thoughtful and enlarging and ultimately, hope-full. It's generous, too, in wrestling with questions of seeking and of doubt. None of us has definitive answers; each of us is capable of questioning. If we don't question and aren't willing to listen, how can we anticipate any possibility of change? <br /><br />If you haven't read "A God in the House: Poets Talk About Faith", I commend it. My friend Peggy Rosenthal's book "Praying Through Poetry: Hope for Violent Times" also is excellent.<br /><br />In the former title above, Li-Young Lee states, "The real subject in poetry isn't the voice. The real subject is silence... I would say the real medium of poetry is inner space, the silence of our deepest interior...." He admits that "it's my own mystery I'm looking at." <br /><br />Thank you for sharing the sense of your own mystery in community. It is essential.<br />Maureennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910291709965283166.post-14472913819284330812016-03-21T09:41:00.684-04:002016-03-21T09:41:00.684-04:00Thanks for your reply, Josie. I particularly liked...Thanks for your reply, Josie. I particularly liked your anecdote about crafting your signs for the vigil. It's true, sometimes we have time for only a few words--how to craft the most effective word that will rouse, even the passing driver? Standing with those words, standing by words (as Wendell Berry's famous essay once was called), becoming those words in deed!Philip Metreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05449159681282927289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910291709965283166.post-27776974801211318142016-03-21T08:55:32.117-04:002016-03-21T08:55:32.117-04:00Ah yes, Phil, despite my silence I have been with ...Ah yes, Phil, despite my silence I have been with you on this Lenten journey. And I can hear how the silence disappoints. Your posts give rise to so many thoughts, it is hard to know where to start with my own response. There is such richness in your 4-fold juxtaposition: scripture, your introductory thoughts, your poem, your guest's reflection. The 4 parts give rise to 4 x 3 x2 = 24 different combinations of 2-fold juxtapositions. If indeed that's how a person processes: two things at a time. I say this just to point out how overwhelming it can feel to form a simple comment in response! <br /><br />Today I was struck by your own personal and professional response to Isaiah's words: poetry. And I'm thinking about the responsibility each of us has to speak a "word that will rouse." And there are so many ways to do this, even if our tongue is not "well-trained." Our peace group has chosen the weekly peace vigil, where our "word" is literally only a few. "Honk for Peace." "War: Everyone loses except the fat cats!" Not enough words for an Op-Ed, but enough to "rouse." The words would be nothing by themselves. It is standing there on that street corner that gives the words life. I think it is the standing there that is the whole point. It is in standing, standing for something, that we are hoping to give others the courage of their own convictions even as we find our own in that simple act. We hold the words in our hands and so we claim them. It's pretty personal. A retired priest who stands with us tells us he is grateful for the opportunity. And we all realize what he means. If we didn't stand in this way with each other, we might say nothing at all. Silence wins so easily.Josie Setzlernoreply@blogger.com