You're Welcome

Search the beach for flat stones,
fit them to the curve of your pointer finger.
Learn to skip.

Let your toes explore the wet moss
under drooping vine-maples.

Impersonate birds.
Practice your best jokes
on the Junko bouncing
near the park bench.

Stand with knees shaking
on exposed peaks,
write thank-you notes.

Learn to recognize hospitality.

Women's Work

When Christ’s calls a man, he bids him come and die.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

However,
when he calls a woman
He bids her go and find
a husband and vacuum,
to marry young, die to self and live
vicariously through spouse and children,
swallow aspirations outside the home,
to work without ceasing—to become a mother
and wife only:
to live and move and breathe
the domestic sphere.

When Christ calls a woman
He bids her be silent and dress modestly
so men will not stumble
while they preach the gospel,
proclaiming good news to the poor,
and liberating the oppressed.

Man Up!

[This is a real different style for me, I'd be interested to hear what y'all think.]

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

Philippians 2:9

Preacher,
define masculine, pinned down
with implicit synonyms:
Big. Athletic.
Proud—
only humble
before God.
Stoic.

Condemn
passivity as effeminate,
degenerative.

Exegete
the word
passion—trace it
back to the root.

Worship
the manly-Christ
in the mirror,
who lifted himself up.