The Parable of the Sincere Sinner

There once lived a man, so happy and blest
With but little good to his name,
For much he accumulated in sin
By deeds of remarkable shame.

And left he his sons instructions to burn
His body when he will have died;
Thus when came the time for him to return,
His dutiful children complied;

And true to his words, his ashes were spread,
One half of them over the land,
The rest of him went to the ocean instead,
Exactly the way he had planned.

But outside the realm of on-ticking time,
Where even does time have an end,
The Lord gave the earth an order sublime,
Commanding the ocean to send

Before Him the dirt defining the man
Attempting to hide in the earth,
Completing the glorious cycle began
Before he was destined for birth.

Addressing that soul in manner so plain,
The Lord did approach him as one
Who chidingly asks his child to explain
What made him do what he had done.

"I did so, my Lord, from fear of You,
Forgive me, a misguided slave",
And so shone the Light of mercy and love;
The best of forgivers forgave.

Now, this is a tale, a parable told.
Prophetic, insightful and true,
So don't you become so foolishly bold:
That man was sincerer than you

And I.

Parent's Wheel

In proper proportions of water and clay,
And merciful motions of formative play,
Expel the rebellious pockets of air
Resistant to fashioning fingers that care;

Position it all at the center, precise,
The center of pulsating goodness and vice,
And tend to this child with a nurture so warm
That molds it to beauty and perfected form;

As perfect as whatever may be the norm.


Inspired by a verbal exchange between my wife and this prolific craftswoman.