Poetry for Politics
An invitation to reflection and care….
As we are in the midst of an important, and tense, political climate, part of what our spiritual community offers is an invitation to care for your soul. At their best, both politics and religion are about care of community – making sure we can all flourish, together. This also means neither are just about one election, but our daily actions and choices for creating a culture of care.
In these weeks, I invite you to read a poem a day. If you start the Sunday this begins, you will read one a poem a day, reading through this booklet twice, through election day. The Wednesday following (Nov. 6th) we will gather for a service of poetry, music, and candle lighting for our shared future.
Invitation to a daily spiritual practice:
- Light a candle or chalice and take a few breaths.
- Read the poem slowly, maybe a few times through.
- Reflect on these questions:
- What in this poem speaks to me?
- How does it encourage me to live my values?
- What in this poem gives me courage, hope, or love?
As you extinguish your chalice, speak a few words (aloud or silently), of gratitude for people, or moments, or places that nourish you.
Poet James Tracy writes,
…the most important choices we make are on the days between elections: picket lines walked, homes unevicted, communities mobilized, cynicism conquered, empires deleted meanings for once not lost in translation kindness given, love made to that extent you know we all vote every day…
May these weeks, and all the weeks after, be held in compassion for a more just and loving world.
Poetry for Politics – Care for the Soul