Called to the vineyard

Jeremiah 29:7-13

Called to the vineyard,

this broken and battered place

of tangled vines and rotting grapes,

called to this vineyard, this city of exile,

you will be battered in this city

you will be broken in this city

because that is the work

of calling to this city of exile

because that’s what it’s about

in this city of exile,

this broken, battered place.

Joy yes but brokenness and

violence and he knows because

he lived it in this city of exile

and being called here

has a point

has a purpose

and the point is called salt

and the purpose is called light. 

Photograph by Zoltan Tasi via Unsplash. Used with permission.

A vineyard

After Isaiah 5:1-7

Walking the vineyard at night

one can almost smell the grapes ripening

in vain, only the smells of the night

prevail, the smell

of darkness, the smell of dew,

the smell of moonlight touching the vines,

highlighting the tangles of branches

and stems. Only in daylight can one see

the ripening. Only in daylight

can one know which grape to test,

to taste, to feel the explosion of flavor.

The vineyard that was planted

is the vineyard turned bad.

the fruit is bad, unusable even

for poor, cheap wine. The ground is

cursed, producing only briers

and thorns. The vineyard

that was planted is the vineyard

unharvested, abandoned.

Photograph by Paul Brennan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

Drink this

After Joel 1

Drink this new wine,

this wine of disaster,

the wine that devours you,

this bitter grape you

planted in your vineyards,

the vineyards of the locusts,

An army of locusts

buzzing and feeding

upon the land

upon your soul.

And then the dreams

and then the visions

and then the wind pours out,

the wind pours out.

Photograph by George Hodan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.