Shivpreet Singh
Shivpreet Singh
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A Noiseless Patient Spider

A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark’d, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;
Ever unreeling them—ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,—seeking the spheres, to connect them;
Till the bridge you will need, be form’d—till the ductile anchor hold;
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul. 


I’m reading two poems about death—one by Wallace Stevens and one by Jane Kenyon. It’s my first time reading Stevens, and wow, he’s spare. “The Death of a Soldier” is all clean lines and no fuss: life “contracts,” the soldier falls, no ceremonies, no big speech. The line that gets me is “the clouds go, nevertheless.” That “nevertheless” lands like a truth we don’t want but recognize—the world keeps moving.
Kenyon’s “The Blue Bowl” is the other angle: small, close-up, hands in the dirt. She and a companion bury their cat with his bowl, noticing the red fur, the “white feathers / between his toes,” even the long, funny nose. Then she says, “There are sorrows keener than these,” which somehow makes the grief feel honest, not small. They go on with the day—work, food, sleep. Overnight it storms; by morning a robin is burbling like that neighbor who means well and always gets it slightly wrong. Nature shows up again, but as everyday life, not grand drama.
So, Stevens doesn’t build a memorial; Kenyon quietly does. Both avoid the spotlight. Put together, they say something simple and useful: things end, the weather changes, the clouds keep going—and we find a way to keep going too.
‘The Death of a Soldier’
Wallace Stevens
Life contracts and death is expected,
As in a season of autumn.
The soldier falls.

He does not become a three-days’ personage,
Imposing his separation,
Calling for pomp.

Death is absolute and without memorial,
As in a season of autumn,
When the wind stops.

When the wind stops and, over the heavens,
The clouds go, nevertheless,
In their direction.

 

The Blue Bowl

Jane Kenyon

Like primitives we buried the cat
with his bowl. Bare-handed
we scraped sand and gravel
back into the hole.
                               They fell with a hiss
and thud on his side,
on his long red fur, the white feathers
between his toes, and his
long, not to say aquiline, nose.

We stood and brushed each other off.
There are sorrows keener than these.

Silent the rest of the day, we worked,
ate, stared, and slept. It stormed
all night; now it clears, and a robin
burbles from a dripping bush
like the neighbor who means well
but always says the wrong thing.

Taylor Swift - Complete Lyrics from Red

She is a very good story teller and writer and I am always interested in what and how she writes. Also, I attended one of her concerts with my daughter. It was one of the grandest concerts ever with LED's that were given to each person in the stadium which were synched with the music. It was magical.  Here are the lyrics. 



State of grace

I'm walking fast through the traffic lights
Busy streets and busy lives
And all we know is touch and go
We are alone with our changing minds
We fall in love till it hurts or bleeds, or fades in time

And I never saw you coming
And I’ll never be the same

You come around and the armor falls
Pierce the room like a cannon ball
Now all we know, is don’t let go
We are alone just you and me
Up in your room and our slates are clean
Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes

So you were never a saint.
I love the shades of wrong.
We learn to live with the pain.
Mostly of broken hearts.
But this love is great and wild.

And I never saw you coming
And I’ll never be the same

This is a state of grace
This is a worth while fight
Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right
These are the hands of fate
You’re my Achilles heel
This is the golden age of something good
And right and real

And I never saw you coming
And I’ll never be the same

And I never saw you coming
And I’ll never be the same

This is a state of grace
This is a worth while fight
Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right


Red

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street
Faster than the wind
Passionate as sin, ended so suddenly
Loving him is like trying to change your mind
Once you’re already flying through the free fall
Like the colors in autumn
So bright just before they lose it all

Losing him was blue like I’d never known
Missing him was dark grey all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never met
But loving him was red
Loving him was red

Touching him is like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you
Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song
Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer
Regretting him was like wishing you never found out love could be that strong

Losing him was blue like I’d never known
Missing him was dark grey all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never met
But loving him was red
Oh red burning red

Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes
Tell myself it’s time now, gotta let go
But moving on from him is impossible
When I still see it all in my head

Burning red!
Darling it was red!

Oh, losing him was blue like I’d never known
Missing him was dark grey all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never met
Cause loving him was red yeah yeah red
We're burning red

And that's why he's spinning round in my head
Comes back to me burning red
Yeah yeah

Cause love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street



Treacherous

Put your lips close to mine
As long as they don't touch
Out of focus, eye to eye
Till the gravity's too much
And I'll do anything you say
If you say it with your hands
And I'd be smart to walk away,
but you're quicksand

This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I, I, I like it

I can't decide if it's a choice
Getting swept away
I hear the sound of my own voice
Asking you to stay
And all we are is skin and bone
trained to get along
Forever going with the flow,
but you're friction

This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I, I, I like it

Two headlights shine through the sleepless night
And I will get you, get you alone
Your name has echoed through my mind
And I just think you should, think you should know
That nothing safe is worth the drive I will
Follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...

This hope is treacherous
This daydream is dangerous
This hope is treacherous
I, I, I... I, I, I... I, I, I...

Two headlights shine through the sleepless night
And I will get you, get you alone
Your name has echoed through my mind
And I just think you should, think you should know
That nothing safe is worth the drive I will
Follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...
I'll follow you, follow you home...

This slope is treacherous
I, I, I like it



I knew you were trouble


(Verse 1)
Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago
I was in your sights, you got me alone
You found me, you found me
You found me-e-e-e-e
I guess you didn't care and I guess I liked that
And when I fell hard, you took a step back
Without me, without me
Without me-e-e-e-e

(Pre-Chorus)
And he's long gone
When he's next to me
And I realize, the blame is on me

(Chorus)
Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now, flew me to places I'd never been
Till you put me down
Oh I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now, flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

(Verse 2)
No apologies, he'll never see you cry
Pretends he doesn't know that he's the reason why
You're drowning, you're drowning
You're drowning-ing-ing-ing
And I heard you moved on from whispers on the street
A new notch in your belt is all I'll ever be
Now I see, Now I see
Now I see-e-e-e-e

(Pre-Chorus)
And he was long gone
When he met me
And I realise, the blame is on me

(Chorus)
Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now, flew me to places I'd never been
Till you put me down
Oh I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now, flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground

Oh, Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

(Bridge)
And the saddest fear comes creeping in
That you never loved me or her or anyone or anything
Yeah

(Chorus)
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now, flew me to places I'd never been
Till you put me down
Oh I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now, flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground

Oh, Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

I knew you were trouble when you walked in
Trouble, trouble, trouble
I knew you were trouble with you walked in
Trouble, trouble, trouble



All too well


I walked through the door with you
The air was cold, but something 'bout it felt like home somehow
And I left my scarf there at your sister's house
And you still got it in your drawer even now

Oh your sweet disposition
At my wide eyed gaze
We're singing in the car getting lost upstate
Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place
And I can picture it after all these days
And I know it's long gone, and that magic's not here anymore
And I might be okay, but i'm not fine at all

Cause here we are again on that little town street
You almost ran the red cause you were looking over me
Wind in my air I was there I remember it all too well

Photo album on my counter
Your cheeks were turning red
You used to be a little kid with your glasses in a twin size bed
And your mother's telling stories 'bout you on the t ball team
You tell me about your past thinking your future was me

And I know it's long gone, and there was nothing else I could do
And I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to

Cause here we are again in the middle of the night
We're dancing round the kitchen in the refrigerator light
Down the stairs I was there I remember it all too well

And maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing wasn't masterpiece
Till you tore it all up
Running scared, I was there I remember it all too well

Hey you called me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I'm a crumbled up piece of paper lying here
Cause I remember it all all all too well

Time won't fly it's like i'm paralyzed by it
I'd like to be my old self again
But i'm still trying to find it
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own
Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone
But you keep my old scarf from that very first week
Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me
You can't get rid of it, cause you remember it all too well

Cause there we are again and I loved you so
Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

Wind in my air I was there I remember it all
Down the stairs you were there you remember it all
It was rare, I was there I remember it all too well




22

(Verse 1)
It feels like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters
And make fun of our exes, ah ah, ah ah
It feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight
To fall in love with strangers, ah ah, ah ah

(Pre-Chorus)
Yeah we're happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time
It's miserable and magical oh yeah
Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines, it's time

(Chorus)
Uh oh, I don't know about you but I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you
You don't know about me but I bet you want too
Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22, 22

(Verse 2)
It seems like one of those nights, this place is too crowded
Too many cool kids, (who's Taylor Swift anyway? ew) ah ah, ah ah
It seems like one of those nights we ditch the whole scene
And end up dreaming instead of sleeping

(Pre-Chorus)
Yeah we're happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way
It's miserable and magical oh yeah
Tonight's the night we forget about the heartbreaks, it's time

(Chorus)
Uh oh, I don't know about you but I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you
You don't know about me but I bet you want too
Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22. 22

(I don't know about you) 22, 22

(Bridge)
It feels like one of those nights, we ditch the whole scene
It feels like one of those nights, we won't be sleeping
It feels like one of those nights, you look like bad news
I gotta have you, I gotta have you

Oh, Oh, Yeah

(Final Chorus)
I don't know about you but I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you
You don't know about me but I bet you want too
Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22. 22

22, 22 (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

(Bridge Reapeat)
It feels like one of those nights, we ditch the whole scene
It feels like one of those nights, we won't be sleeping
It feels like one of those nights, you look like bad news
I gotta have you, I gotta have you



I almost do

I bet this time of night you're still up
I bet you're tired from a long hard week
I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city
And I bet sometimes you wander about me

(Chorus)
And I just wanna tell you it takes everything in me not to call you
And I wish I could run to you and I hope you know that
Every time I don't I Almost Do, I Almost Do

(Verse 2)
I bet you think I either moved on or hate you
Cause each time you reach out there is no reply
I bet it never ever ever occurred to you
That I can't say hello to you and risk another goodbye

(Chorus)
And I just wanna tell you it takes everything in me not to call you
And I wish I could run to you and I hope you know that
Every time I don't I Almost Do, I Almost Do

(Bridge)
Oh, we made quite a mess baby
It's probably better off this way
And I confess baby
In my dreams you're touching my face
And asking me if I wanna try again with you
And I Almost Do

(Chorus)
And I just wanna tell you it takes everything in me not to call you
And I wish I could run to you and I hope you know that
Every time I don't I Almost Do, I Almost Do

I bet this time of night you're still up
I bet you're tired from a long hard week
I bet you're sitting in you're chair by the window looking out at the city
And I hope sometimes you wander about me



We are never getting back together

I Remember when we broke up the first time
Saying "This is it, I've had enough", cause like
We hadn't seen each other in a month
When you, said you, "needed space", what?
Then you come around again and say
Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change
Trust me, remember how that lasted for a day
I say, I hate you, we break up, you call me, I love you
Oooh we called it off again last night
But Oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you
We are never ever ever ever getting back together
We are never ever ever ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends, talk
to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together
Like ever...
I'm really gonna miss you picking fights
And me, falling for it screaming that I'm right
And you, will hide away and find your peace of mind
with some indie record that's much cooler than mine
Oooh you called me up again tonight
But Oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you
We are never ever ever ever getting back together
We are never ever ever ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends talk
to my friends talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together
I used to think, that we, were forever ever
And I used to say never say never
Huh, he calls me up and he's like, I still love you
And i'm like, I just, I mean this is exhausting, you know
We are never getting back together, like ever
We are never ever ever ever getting back together
We are never ever ever ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends talk
to my friends talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together
Not getting back together, we
Oh, getting back together
You go talk to your friends talk
to my friends talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together



The last time


[Gary Lightbody:]
Found myself at your door,
Just like all those times before,
I’m not sure how I got there,
All roads they lead me here.

I imagine you are home,
In your room, all alone,
And you open your eyes into mine,
And everything feels better,

[Both:]
Right before your eyes,
I’m breaking, no past
No reasons why,
Just you and me.

This is the last time I’m asking you this,
Put my name at the top of your list,
This is the last time I’m asking you why,
You break my heart in the blink of an eye.

[Taylor Swift:]
You find yourself at my door,
Just like all those times before,
You wear your best apology,
But I was there to watch you leave,

And all the times I let you in,
Just for you to go again,
Disappear when you come back,
Everything is better.

[Both:]
When right before your eyes,
I’m aching, run fast,
Nowhere to hide,
Just you and me…

This is the last time I’m asking you this,
Put my name at the top of your list,
This is the last time I’m asking you why,
You break my heart in the blink of an eye, eye, eye…

This is the last time you tell me I’ve got it wrong,
This is the last time I say it’s been you all along,
This is the last time I let you in my door,
This is the last time, I won’t hurt you anymore.

Oh, oh, oh,

This is the last time I’m asking you this,
Put my name at the top of your list,
This is the last time I’m asking you why,
You break my heart in the blink of an eye.

This is the last time I’m asking you this, (this is the last time I’m asking you this)
Put my name on the top of your list, (name on the top of your list)
This is the last time I’m asking you why, (this is the last time I’m asking you why)
You break my heart in the blink of an eye. (You break my heart…)

This is the last time I’m asking you this,
Last time I’m asking you this,
Last time I’m asking you this,
Last time I’m asking you this.. [x3]





Holy Ground



I was reminiscing just the other day
While having coffee all alone and Lord, it took me away
Back to a first-glance feeling on New York time
Back when you fit in my poems like a perfect rhyme
Took off fast through the green light, go
Yeah you, skip the conversation when you already know
I left a note on the door with a joke we’d made
And that was the first day
And darling, it was good never looking down
And right there where we stood was holy ground

Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress
We had this big wide city all to ourselves
We blocked the noise with the sound of ‘I need you’
And for the first time I had something to lose

And I guess we fell apart in the usual way
And the story’s got dust on every page
Sometimes I wonder how you think about it now
And I see your face in every crowd

Cause darling, it was good never looking down
And right there where we stood was holy ground

Tonight I’m gonna dance for all that we’ve been through
But I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you
Tonight I’m gonna dance like you were in the next room
But I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you
It was good never looking down
And right there where we stood was holy ground
Tonight I’m gonna dance for all that we’ve been through
But I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you
Tonight I’m gonna dance like you were in the next room
But I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you



Sad beautiful tragic


Long handwritten note, deep in your pocket
Words, how little they mean, when they're a little too late
I stood right by the tracks, your face in a locket
Good girls, hopeful they'll be and lonely will wait

We had a beautiful magic love affair
What a sad beautiful tragic love affair

In dreams, I meet you in long conversation
We both wake in lonely beds, and different cities
And time is ticking a sweet summer race in you
And you've got your demons and darling they all look like me

Cause we had a beautiful magic love affair
What a sad beautiful tragic love affair

Distance, tire me, break down, fighting
Silence, this train runs off its tracks
Kiss me, try to fix it, would you just try to listen
Hang up, give up, for the life of us we can't get it back

A beautiful magic love affair
What a sad beautiful tragic, beautiful tragic, beautiful
What we had, a beautiful magic love affair
What a sad beautiful tragic love affair
We had a beautiful magic love affair
What a sad beautiful tragic love affair

The lucky ones

New to town with a made up name in the angel city,
Chasing fortune and fame.
And the camera flashes, make it look like a dream.
You had it figured out since you were in school.
Everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool.
So overnight you look like a sixties' queen.

Another name goes up in lights, like diamonds in the sky.

And they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one.
Yeah, they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one.
But can you tell me now, you're the lucky one.

Now it's big black cars, and Riviera views,
And your lover in the foyer doesn't even know you
And your secrets end up splashed on the news front page.

And they tell you that you're lucky.
But you're so confused,
Cause you don't feel pretty, you just feel used.
And all the young things line up to take your place.

Another name goes up in lights. You wonder if you'll make it out alive.

And they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one.
Yeah, they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one.
Can you tell me now, you're the lucky one, oh, oh, oh.

It was a few years later, I showed up here.
And they still tell the legend of how you disappeared,
How you took the money and your dignity, and got the hell out.
They say you bought a bunch of land somewhere,
Chose the Rose Garden over Madison Square,
And it took some time, but I understand it now.

'Cause now my name is up in lights, but I think you got it right,

Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one.
Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one.
Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one, oh, oh, oh.

And they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one.
Yeah, they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one.
And they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one, oh, oh, oh.
Oh, whoa, oh, oh.



Everything has changed


All I knew this morning when I woke
Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before
And all I've seen since 18 hours ago is green eyes and freckles and your smile in the back of my mind making me feel right
I just want to know you better know you better know you better now
I just want to know you better know you better know you better now
I just want to know you better know you better know you better now
I just want to know you know you know you

Cause all I know is we said hello
And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed
All I know is you held the door
You'll be mine and i'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

And all my walls stood tall painted blue
But i'll take them down, take them down and open up the door for you
And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies the beautiful kind
Making up for lost time, taking flight, making me feel right

I just want to know you better know you better know you better now
I just want to know you better know you better know you better now
I just want to know you better know you better know you better now
I just want to know you know you know you

Cause all I know is we said hello
And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed
All I know is you held the door
You'll be mine and i'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

Come back and tell me why
I'm feeling like i've missed you all this time
And meet me there tonight
And let me know that it's not all in my mind

I just want to know you better know you better know you better now
I just want to know you know you know you

Cause all I know is we said hello
And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed
All I know is you held the door
You'll be mine and i'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

All I know is we said hello
So dust off your highest hopes
All I know is pouring rain
And everything has changed
All I know is a newfound brightness
All my days, i'll know your face
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed



Starlight lyrics


I said oh my, what a marvelous tune
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved the whole place
Was dressed to the nines, and we were dancing dancing
Like we meet a starlight
Like we meet a starlight

On the barbie, on the boardwalk, summer of 45
Picks me up play one night at the window he was 17 and crazy running wild, wild
Can't remember what song it was playing when we walked in
That night we sneaked into a yard club party
Pretending to be a duchess and a prince

And I said oh my, what a marvelous tune
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved the whole place
Was dressed to the nines, and we were dancing dancing
Like we meet a starlight starlight
Like we meet a starlight starlight

He still look at you worrying so much about things you can't change
You spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way
He was trying to skip rocks in the ocean saying to me
"Don't you see the starlight starlight
Don't you dream impossible things"

Like oh my, what a marvelous tune
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved the whole place
Wasdressed t the nines, and we were dancing dancing
Like we meet a starlight starlight
Like we meet a starlight starlight

Ooh ooh he's talking crazy
Ooh ooh dancing with me
Ooh ooh we could get married
Have ten kids and teach them how to dream

[guitar]

Oh my, what a marvelous tune
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved the whole place
Was dressed to the nines, and we were dancing dancing
Like we meet a starlight starlight
Like we meet a starlight starlight
Like we meet a starlight starlight
Like we dream impossible dreams
Starlight starlight
Like we dream impossible dreams
Don't you see the starlight starlight
Don't you dream impossible things




Begin Again


Took a deep breath in the mirror
He didn't like it when I wore high heels
But I do
Turn the lock and put my headphones on
He always said he didn't get this song
But I do, I do
I walked in expecting you'd be late
But you got here early and you stand and wait
I walk to you
You pull my chair out and help me in
And you don't know how nice that is
But I do

And you throw your head back laughing
Like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny
Cause he never did
And I've been spending the last 8 months
Thinking all love ever does is
Break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe
I watched it begin again

You say you never met one girl who
Had as many James Taylor records as you
But I do
We tell stories and you don't know why
I'm coming off a little shy
But I do

But you throw your head back laughing
Like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny
Cause he never did
And I've been spending the last 8 months
Thinking all love ever does is
Break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe
I watched it begin again

And we walk down the block to my car
And I almost brought him up
But you start to talk about the movies
That your family watches
Every single Christmas
And I won't talk about that for the first time
What's past is past

Cause you throw your head back laughing
Like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny
Cause he never did
And I've been spending the last 8 months
Thinking all love ever does is
Break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe
I watched it begin again

But on a Wednesday in a cafe
I watched it begin again



“Believe nothing because a wise person said it. Believe nothing because it is generally held. Believe nothing because it is written. Believe nothing because it is said to be Divine. Believe nothing because someone else believes it. But believe only what you yourself judge to be true.”

 



This day we are commemorating the witness of Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who used her words to set the captive free. I’ll say more about her later, but right now I want to note that in 1943-44 her witness was celebrated in a Broadway play titled “Harriet.”

It was Helen Hayes who played the part of Harriet Beecher Stowe. At the end of the play Beecher Stowe’s family stands around Harriet and sings the words of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” affirming the Christian witness of this brave and bold woman. Part of the hymn goes like this:


In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.



For a text today, I offer these words from Mark 3:19-21 (NRSV):
Then [Jesus] went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.'

The King James Version of the Bible translates the concern of Jesus’ family for him in these words: “He is beside himself.” The old J.B. Phillips New Testament translates it, “People were saying, ‘He must be mad!’” But my favorite is from the 1995 Contemporary English Version, which says, “When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.”

So forgive me for saying it this way, but Jesus was, and is, crazy! And those who would follow him, those who would be his disciples, those who would live as and be the people of the Way, are called and summoned and challenged to be just as crazy as Jesus. So I want to speak on the subject “We need some crazy Christians.”

I don’t want to be too quick to judge Jesus’ mother and the whole family. They had good reason to be concerned. We just read from 1 Peter a teaching that reflects what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9). That’s crazy. In the Gospel reading from Matthew, read just a few moments ago, Jesus says, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matthew 23:11). That’s crazy.

What the world calls wretched, Jesus calls blessed. Blessed are the poor and the poor in spirit. Blessed are the merciful, the compassionate. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst that God’s righteous justice might prevail. Blessed are those who work for peace. Blessed are you when you are persecuted just for trying to love and do what is good. Jesus was crazy. He said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, pray for those who despitefully use you.” He was crazy. He prayed while folk were killing him, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” Now, that’s crazy.

We need some Christians who are as crazy as the Lord. Crazy enough to love like Jesus, to give like Jesus, to forgive like Jesus, to do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God -- like Jesus. Crazy enough to dare to change the world from the nightmare it often is into something close to the dream that God dreams for it. And for those who would follow him, those who would be his disciples, those who would live as and be the people of the Way? It might come as a shock, but they are called to craziness.

Let me suggest one example of such a call from the New Testament: Mary of Magdala, Mary Magdalene. For whatever reason, Mary often gets a bum rap.

Think back to the crucifixion of Jesus. Crucifixion was execution by the empire for crimes against the state. It was public torture. It was an intentionally brutal means of capital punishment, an execution designed to send a message that revolution and revolutionaries would not be tolerated. If you were a supporter or follower of the person being crucified, it was dangerous to stand too close by during the execution. The rational and sensible thing to do was to go into hiding or exile.

Having said that, let’s call the roll of those Jesus called to follow him; let’s take the attendance of the apostles at the crucifixion of their Lord. Simon Peter? Absent. James? Absent. Andrew? Absent. Bartholomew? Absent. Thomas? Absent. Judas? Definitely absent. Mary Magdalene? Present and accounted for! That’s a disciple! When the old slaves sang, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” there was a woman named Mary who could answer, “I was there!” Now, that’s crazy!

Now, it may not be obvious at first, but we actually have a day to remember crazy Christians. I think we call it All Saints’ Day. It’s not called “All the Same Day”; it’s All Saints’ Day, because, though they were fallible and mortal, and sinners like the rest of us, when push came to shove, the people we honor as saints marched to the beat of a different drummer. In their lifetimes, they made a difference for the kingdom of God. As you know, we are even working on a book to help us commemorate them. We are calling it “Holy Women, Holy Men.” But we might as well call it “The Chronicles of Crazy Christians.”

One of the people we celebrate in the book is Harriet Beecher Stowe, a descendant of Mary Magdalene. She was born in 1811 into a devout family committed to the gospel of Jesus and to helping transform the world from the nightmare it often is into the dream God intends. She is best-known for a fictional work titled “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

In this fiction, she told the truth. She told the story of how chattel slavery afflicted a family, afflicted real people. She told the truth of the brutality, the injustice, the inhumanity of the institution of chattel slavery. Her book did what YouTube videos of injustices and brutalities do today. It went 19th-century viral. It rallied abolitionists and enraged vested interests.

The influence of that book was so powerful that Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said, upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time, “So this is the little lady who started this great war!”

A woman of her era was supposed to write nice stories, not stories that would disturb the conscience of a nation. She was supposed to marry well, raise well-bred children, participate in a few charitable activities and be fondly remembered by all who knew her. That was the life she was supposed to have.

But she had been raised in a family that believed that following Jesus means changing the world from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends. And sometimes that means marching to the beat of a different drummer. Sometimes that means caring when it is tempting to care less, or standing up when others sit down. Sometimes it means speaking up when others shut up. Sometimes it means being different -- even being crazy.

When Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple Inc., died last year, an old Apple commercial from the 90s went viral on YouTube. It was a commercial that aired in 1997 and that attempted to re-brand Apple products. The tag line for the commercial and the company was “Think different,” a phrase that is grammatically incorrect -- which is part of the point.

In the commercial, they showed a collage of photographs and film footage of people who have invented and inspired, created and sacrificed to improve the world, to make a difference. They showed Bob Dylan, Amelia Earhart, Frank Lloyd Wright, Maria Callas, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., Jim Henson, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Mahatma Gandhi and on and on and on. As the images rolled by, a voice read this poem:


Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.
The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough
to think they can change the world,
are the ones who do.

We need some crazy Christians. Sane, sanitized Christianity is killing us. That may have worked once upon a time, but it won’t carry the gospel anymore. We need some crazy Christians like Mary Magdalene and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Christians crazy enough to believe that God is real and that Jesus lives. Crazy enough to follow the radical way of the gospel. Crazy enough to believe that the love of God is greater than all the powers of evil and death. Crazy enough to believe, as Dr. King often said, that though “the moral arc of the universe is long, … it bends toward justice.”

We need some Christians crazy enough to believe that children don’t have to go to bed hungry; that the world doesn’t have to be the way it often seems to be; that there is a way to lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside; that, as the slaves used to sing, “there’s plenty good room in my Father’s kingdom,” because every human being has been created in the image of God, and we are all equally children of God and meant to be treated as such.

In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
God’s truth is marching on.


Here's to the crazy ones. 
The misfits. The rebels. 
The trouble-makers. 

The round heads 
in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. 
They're not fond of rules, 
and they have no respect for the status-quo. 

You can quote them, 
disagree with them, 
glorify, or vilify them. 

But the only thing 
you can't do is ignore them. 
Because they change things. 

They push the human race forward. 
And while some may see them 
as the crazy ones, we see genius. 

Because the people who are crazy 
enough to think they can change the world, 
are the ones who do.

What do people know?
- Kabir

Silly religious marks on foreheads
Meditating with rosaries in their hands
Like devotion is some child's play

And they call me senseless
What do people know?

They cut living leaves,
They burn dead candles
They worship milk-stoned idols

What do people know?

Who I worship
And who I celebrate
are you, my dear love!

What do people know?

Only you, my love,
Know my secret!
Let people call Shiv crazy!

- Kabir

Translated by Shiv
Bhaya Divana Shah Ka - Puratan Kirtan


Maaroo (in the color of death)

Some call him a ghost; some say that he is a demon.
Some call him a mere mortal; O, poor Nanak! ||1||

Crazy Nanak has gone insane, after his Lord, the King.
He knows of none other than the Lord. ||1||Pause||

He alone is known to be insane, when he goes insane with the Fear of God.
He recognizes none other than the One Lord and Master. ||2||

He alone is known to be insane, if he works for the One Lord.
Recognizing the Hukam, the Command of his Lord and Master, what other cleverness is there? ||3||

He alone is known to be insane, when he falls in love with his Lord and Master.
He sees himself as bad, and all the rest of the world as good. ||4||7||
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SHIVPREET SINGH

Singing oneness!
- Shivpreet Singh

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