High rise

July 11, 2011

Elena Huegel

High rise above the city

                pumped like breath and blood

                awakening iron rod and glass

                giant feeding off the earth

                full of two legged fleas

                crawling up flights of stairs

                or waiting impatiently outside

                the elevator doors. Striving to

Rise high above the city.

Hammock of hands

Jan. 16, 2015

We weave a net with all our hands

To catch hope and let fear escape.

A handy net

                To cradle the world.

Bring your hands:

                Your working hands

                With cracked nails.

                Your folded hands

                Praying at the rail.

                Your grubby hands,

                With sand, shovel and pail.

                Your manicured hands

                With sculpted nails.

Together we weave a hammock of hands

To gently rock the world.

Laughter and babbling brook…

Gather in the net!

Hunger, hate and horror…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Humming birds and wild flowers…

Gather in the net!

Word-blows and worries…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Childplay and simple joy…

Gather in the net!

Snake fang and heart pain…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Bear hugs and skipping rope…

Gather in the net!

Gloating, gossip and ignorance…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Cradle the world in a

Hammock of interwoven hands.

Cloud veil by Elena Huegel

A cloud is the thin veil which hides God so we are not terrified by the vastness of the sky.  A starry night is a window into eternity and a reflection of our insignificance.  Look through the window long enough and get pulled through. Lose yourself.  God hides behind the thin veil on the mountain where we are transfigured with Christ, terrified with the disciples, and lost to ourselves.

Hide in the veil, o God, and hold me tight when you terrify me.  Jan 2, 2015. 

The Wall by Nicolás Guillén

For us to build this wall,
bring me all the hands:
the black their hands black,
the white their hands white.
Aye,
A wall that stretches
from the beach to the mountain,
from the mountain to the beach,
there over the horizon.
- Knock, knock!
- Who’s there?
- A rose and a carnation
- Open the wall!
- Knock, knock!
- Who’s there?
- The colonel’s saber
- Close the wall!
- Knock, knock!
- Who’s there?
- The pigeon and the laurel
- Open the wall!
- Knock, knock!
- Who’s there?
- The scorpion and the centipede
- Close the wall!
To the heart of a friend,
open the wall;
To the poison and the dagger,
close the wall;
To the myrtle and mint,
open the wall;
To the snake’s teeth,
close the wall;
to the nightingale in the flower,
open the wall.
Let us raise a wall
putting together all the hands
the black, their hands black,
the white, their white hands.
A wall that stretches
from the beach to the mountain,
from the mountain to the beach,
there over the horizon.