baby  Jesus was frozen at the ymca

away in a manager on Christmas day

families were rushing to reach church on time

an old man was drinking his bottle of wine

the sun started shining bright in the sky

melting the ice in Jesus’ eyes

the old man was filled with wonder and fear

when he looked at the baby and thought he saw tears

he fell on his knees and prayed on the ground

a number of people gathered around

Jesus is crying the old man spoke out

just look in his eyes if there’s any doubt

the water rolled down from Jesus’ face

it’s a miracle shouted a girl filled with grace

the old man just nodded and continued to pray

as Jesus lay thawing at the ymca

the next day the crowds continued to come

the sick and the lame the deaf and the dumb

the came to see if the tears were for real

they came with their sorrows they came to be healed
a cripple girl walked a blind boy got sight

a man lost in darkness claimed he saw light

they touched the old man who seemed holy and wise

who first saw the tears in Jesus’ eyes

this beaten old man whose clothes looked like rags

who swallowed his faith from a brown paper bag

he never believed that he’d be the one

to preach to the old the sick and the young

the tears started falling from his weary old eyes

the ice started melting that had frozen his life

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, he heard himself say

as Jesus lay thawing at the ymca

marchetti 09

i got a tree today…we will decorate it tomorrow
when i was my sons age, 8…dad and i would buy our tree on Christmas eve …then go to midnight mass…then i would try to sleep until morning…visions of sugar plums and reindeer and baseball gloves and footballs dancing in my head…

it was our tradition to buy our tree Christmas eve…i didn’t know at the time the reason it was our tradition,was because trees were dirt cheap then, they were almost giving them away…

my favorite memory of back then is dad and i going up the street…about 5 or 6 in the evening…and dad buying two of the worst looking trees you have ever seen for 50 cents…we brought them home…and dad sawed limbs from one tree and drilled holes in the other tree and glued the limbs in…to make the best looking tree you’ve ever seen…i remember us laughing the whole time…

he was so proud of that tree…we decorated it and i don’t think i had ever seen him or mom so happy… when i got older mom told me later that night when i was asleep ,after the tree was decorated…the heat loosened the glue and limbs started falling out left and right…dad jumping around laughing putting them back in…i never knew

it was a great Christmas…traditions start for a number of reasons…i treasure our tradition of buying the tree Christmas eve…no matter what the reason

Christmas isn’t about the money…it’s the day we celebrate Jesus birthday…the prince of peace,the hope and light of the world..a tradition we can’t afford to lose

not sure what age we are in now…computer age? infomercial age? whatever age we are in it feels like we are on the dawn of another age…it feels like there is a shift taking place…

i’m not a big 2012 doomsday kind of guy…not talking about that…but i think we are coming into a new age…a light age

we don’t know what killed the dinosaurs…but it seems like the dinosaurs are killing us, with our dependence on fossil fuels…war, pollution and a list of other things  just so we can get to the fast food place faster and keep the tv and computers humming…some things stop making sense after awhile..and eventually the fossil fuels will run out…and then what

here’s my crackpot idea of what we should do…i think the military, police, and medical should continue with the oil…i think the rest of us should start making the slow transition to alternative  forms of fuel, energy, solar wind whatever…it’s going to come someday anyway…might as well do it on our terms

let the people who’s jobs depend on oil start being trained in alternative forms of energy…change is coming, one way or another…people want to feel safe…secure…it’s kind of hard to feel that way when you see what going on

i have a lot of hope for the future..the young people i am around are bright folks with good hearts…and much bigger brains than me when i was their age…i say…let the sun shine …let the sunshine in and welcome in the light age

marchetti 10

play/work

laugh/ cry

live/die

wonder/why

repeat until you know why…

Holy Water

turn the water into wine

turn the wine into blood

turn the blood into forgiveness

turn forgiveness into love

East Nashville

my neighbors were … junior, martha, a black hooker crack addict, and junior’s brother

they had two dogs

one was a suicidal dog

i know this because one night, juniors brother

came staggering drunk down the middle of the street chasing after the dog …

muttering to himself, you must want to get run over … suicidal dog …

i never knew  junior’s brothers name … but he seemed to have great compassion

of course if i was junior’s brothers dog, i would have been suicidal also …

marchetti

fill her oceans with oil and poison and trash

cut down her timber and strip mine her mountains

sell all her beauty for a hand full of cash

the native americans knew we were crazy

with our fences and killing and relentless waste

when momma’s not happy ain’t nobody happy

right now mother earth has a frown on her face

it’s a microwave meltdown from nation to nation

volcanoes and earthquakes, tornadoes and floods

but we’ve got our instant gratification

with one foot in the grave and one stuck in the mud

common sense is a virtue that’s dead on the vine

we need to wake up before it’s too late

when momma’s not happy ain’t nobody happy

right now mother earth has a frown on her face

marchetti 10

lucca is in the 1st grade…the 3rd graders at his school put on a program the other day…the students dressed up as someone famous and stood like a statue in a booth…when you walked up and dropped a penny in a box they would come to life and tell a little bit about the person they were representing…

when he came home i asked him how he liked the program? he said it was okay…then a few minutes later he said dad…one of the kids was dressed up like mom’s mom…i said someone was dressed up like mee maw? he said yea..i said well you know son your grama is famous…and he said…IT’S NOT MY FAULT…i loved that

peggy was telling me today that lucca told her that mee maw was famous…and peggy said i know…and lucca said yea, she is famous for singing, and peggy said i know son…and lucca said, WELL SOMEONE NEEDS TO TELL HER…perfect

hope everyone is making it through the flood …come see us on the farm, lots of good stuff

marchett10

PoetryDispatch No. 318 | March 13, 2010

WENDELL BERRY

THE CONTRARINESS OF THE MAD FARMER

I am done with apologies. If contrariness is my
inheritance and destiny, so be it. If it is my mission
to go in at exits and come out at entrances, so be it.
I have planted by the stars in defiance of the experts,
and tilled somewhat by incantation and by singing,
and reaped, as I knew, by luck and Heaven’s favor,
in spite of the best advice. If I have been caught
so often laughing at funerals, that was because
I knew the dead were already slipping away,
preparing a comeback, and can I help it?
And if at weddings I have gritted and gnashed
my teeth, it was because I knew where the bridegroom
had sunk his manhood, and knew it would not
be resurrected by a piece of cake. “Dance” they told me,
and I stood still, and while they stood
quiet in line at the gate of the Kingdom, I danced.
“Pray” they said, and I laughed, covering myself
in the earth’s brightnesses, and then stole off gray
into the midst of a revel, and prayed like an orphan.
When they said “I know that my Redeemer liveth,”
I told them “He’s dead.” And when they told me
“God is dead,” I answered “He goes fishing every day
in the Kentucky River. I see Him often.”
When they asked me would I like to contribute
I said no, and when they had collected
more than they needed, I gave them as much as I had.
When they asked me to join them I wouldn’t,
and then went off by myself and did more
than they would have asked. “Well, then” they said
“go and organize the International Brotherhood
of Contraries,” and I said “Did you finish killing
everybody who was against peace?” So be it.
Going against men, I have heard at times a deep harmony
thrumming in the mixture, and when they ask me what
I say I don’t know. It is not the only or the easiest
way to come to the truth. It is one way.

i guess it’s good for you

i’m having trouble making sense of anything

i’ve always had trouble making sense of anything

the  job, the music, the anything…all that makes sense is writing about how it doesn’t make sense

you spend your last few hours with one eye open…unable to speak…and all what for

i am grateful and blessed more than most…but still the way society and mankind has it set up does not make sense to me…i quess that’s why the Jesus, spiritual side of things appeal to me…which to me all the holy books say…money fame power war doesn’t make sense…i may be close to cracking or cracking through…

this came to me through a friend that sort of rings true…

my dad always seemed angry about something

i didn’t know what…so i figured it was me

it’s taken many years to learn it wasn’t me…but that’s a different story

my dad passed away 19 years ago today…

right after his funeral i had this dream…

i was walking across a bridge…talking on the phone…

when the voice on the other end asked…

what was the nicest thing your dad ever did for you?

as i began to answer…in my dream…i flashed right back

6 years old…getting beat up…again…by richie milsovic

i knew when my dad saw the shape i was in he would tell me to go back out  and keep fighting until i won…

i never won…

but this particular day i started to get the better of ole richie

maybe he was sick…maybe i was getting stronger…maybe it was luck

but i had him on the ropes…

i reached back with all my might…ready to land the knock out punch

glory in my sights…6 year old heavy weight champ of the block

i swung… he ducked…i slipped in the slime that ran down the middle of the red brick alley behind our house…i fell

richie jumped on me…pinning me with his knees on my shoulders

nothing more frustrating…uncle

i went   into the house…slime covered…defeated again

my dad was  on the couch…tired from working as a bricklayer all day

i got ready for the speech and humiliation…

but..instead…he said…come here buddy

he let me lay with him on the couch…and he held me and told me it was all right…

i told the voice on the other end of the line…this was the nicest thing my dad ever did for me…

i miss my dad

marchetti 10

by the time that I left Texas  I was barely hangin on
my life was such a fine mess
my heart was breakin like the dawn
i knew packin up and leavin
was all that I had left
had to put the past behind me
so I kept on headin west

Out to the city of the angels
down by the oceans edge
where I cried out to anyone who’d listen
as the waves came crashin in
I was searchin for salvation
and deliverance from the dark
and the resurrection of my heart

my dreams were tossed and scattered
my faith had turned to doubt
nothing seems to matter
when the fire for life burns out
i tried lovin through the anger
i tried laughin through the tears
i tried runnin from the reasons
that have finally brought me here

out to the city of the angels
down by the oceans edge
where I cried out to anyone who’d listen
as the waves came crashin in
I was searchin for salvation and deliverance from the dark

and the resurrection of my heart

at the end of the highway by the edge of the sea
the road to forgiveness brought me to my knees

out to the city of the angels

down by the oceans edge

where i cried out to anyone who’d listen

as the waves came crashin in

i was searchin for salvation

and deliverance from the dark

and the resurrection of my heart

jones marchetti 10