Wonder

Poem written for a collaboration with artist Sheryl Vine for The Artistree Project, presented at Fieldmoot in 2025.

Trade the glow of the sky for the glow of a screen
And fail to look up from the problems that seem
To loom large in my life, casting shadows of doubt
On the things that I know, twisting truths inside out.

My fears have gone viral; they flounder and spiral.
Their ‘thoughts’ and their ‘prayers’ only merit an eyeroll.
I’ve tamed You and cropped You, and now You’re too small,
So I cling to control when the rain starts to fall.

Tell me, where is the awe, and where is the wonder?
My ears have grown dull to the roll of your thunder.
I’m blind to the lightning-clear voice that You raise
When I walk past a bush that is boldly ablaze.
’Midst dizzying thoughts, You get barely a mention,
So what must You do now to get my attention?

Sweep down from the mountains, an almighty roar,
Bending and breaking—debris starts to soar—
And blow down brick houses like they’re made of straw.
Only then do I wonder and marvel in awe
At the splendor and grandeur of nature’s tirade—
Reminded You’re grander than all that You’ve made.

You snap my assumptions like they’re merely matches;
Your glory shows forth in the light as it catches
Above desolation, refracts in a bow.
I’ll remember Your promise, and then I will know
That it’s You whom the wind and the waves must obey.
Calm the storm in my soul now and teach me to pray:

*

Lord, shock me into worship, for I stand on holy ground;
I’d see it if I’d only lift my eyes and look around.
I fixate on the flooding, and I’m certain I will drown;
Yet all the while, I’m looking at the problem upside down.
Peel the shingles from my eyes and restore my failing sight
To see your lightning splintering and setting clouds alight.

Lord, shake up my priorities and rend complacency;
Rip my idols from my hands with Your whirlwind clemency.
From the rubble of my worries, please build my faith anew,
Anchored deep into the Rock, ’til I’m wholly fixed on You.