Today’s word prompt is elevate.
I was constantly told as a child
to elevate God
to the highest,
this moral, superior, male dominator
kind of God
who could terrify me
with his bigness.
Now I imagine so many of us
seated in a circle,
a support group to overcome
the misogynistic, patriarchal,
militaristic God we grew to know
and fear as kids and into adulthood.
For a few minutes,
we learn to elevate ourselves,
our stories,
our experiences,
and after minutes,
after days,
after months,
we come to realize that
elevating a god
who despises us
isn’t elevation at all,
and elevating
kinship and belonging,
and a spark of self-love
that turns into a real
and healing relationship
is a precious
and sacred kind of
gift.
Don’t we want to give that
to ourselves?
Don’t we want to find our way
home?
Grab a seat.
We’ll get through this together.
We’ll elevate the love
found in the hard questions
and in the deep healing.
We’ll get there.
Elevated Dining
What could be more divine
than a stainless-steel stock pot
of perfectly cooked beans?
Glass jars line the pantry shelves like
pebble collections, small at the start-
pinto, kidney, black eyed peas,
a symphony of simmering simplicity
after a soak, cloudy water thickens
their skin, plump as pillows resting
in the hollow of my spoon,
bedfellows of stewed tomatoes
and June-picked okra. I elevate
my feet to the top of the table,
settling in for the night as the bowl
warms my belly inside and out.
Elevation
I AM ready
to go higher
I put the
blanket
tied around
my neck
running hands in front
I'm flying
seeing others
from a special place
I am able
to do more good
saving the world
one person
at a time
I enjoy
the wind through my hair
this view
of life
the belief
I'm a
super hero
nothing can
hurt me
and
I can
Help
anyone
and
everyone.
Lord,
Let me
reach
the
elevation
of a
child
again.