providence (Isaiah 55:1-9)

starting in the middle
      of the night, supervised
      only by the stars, you
   meet the delivery trucks,
         getting case after case
              of milk into the
              refrigerated coolers,
      stacking the loaves of still warm
                  bread on the shelves,
         running the meat through
           the slicer )thin enough
           for deli sandwiches), then
     turning to your partners who,
               like you, are wiping
     their sweaty brows with the
        hems of their aprons, you announce,
   'throw open the doors!  And remember,
    everything is 100% off.'

while the Kid
is running the sweeper
              through the dining room,
     and setting the tables
     with the best silver and china,
   and Sophia is putting the finishing
          touches on the dessert trays,               
                  you make one final
       check of the food in the ovens
       and simmering on top of the stoves,
     then, turning to the servers, you
   remind them that everyone is to be treated
   as if they were at a State Dinner, and
         on every check, they are simpy
         to scrawl
           Total: $0.00 (grace included),

then,
      you stand at the open door,
   greeting every person with
        a smile, calling each one by name,
              welcoming them
     to your banquet of
          joy and wonder.

(c) 2013  Thom M. Shuman

cluck, cluck (Luke 13:31-35)

surely
      you meant an
   eagle,   majestic
         and soaring above
         mountaintops,
      with an inscrutable eye
           on all below;

or maybe
it was a
      stork, bringing
   good luck (even a baby?)
         to the house
            it visits;

perhaps a
      nightingale,
   singing to cheer our
        solitude;
      an owl,
          imbuing us with
        wisdom;
   the wild goose whose
      dignity belies
          its free spirit . . .

but a chicken? 

   squawking, clucking,
   scrabbling around in the
                      dirt
      for food, gawkily
         flapping her wings,
    while scrabbling about
       to protect her chicks
            who are doing
            everything they
                     can
      to get away from her . . .

. . . that's your image of

            God?

(c) 2013 Thom M. Shuman