Honoring my mom today. Susie Diehl has been such an inspiration. Especially in the past few years my mom has been with me in and through being in the hospital, being out of the hospital, seeing doctors with me, therapy with me and just raw daily love and support of me. I honor her life today. For it has been well lived. Love you mom!

To mom—for being with me through all the struggles and faithful to the very end.

Layers

Upon the words, upon the faces,
Upon the traces of goodness left for me,
In you has been a mighty heritage,
A sacred vestige of unchanging ways,
Morning by morning you have said yes
To it, a proverbs women, an adverb person,
A living verb, a living love language, a living
Friend that has apprehended me, that has
Taken a hold of me,

In my weakness you have said yes,
In my weakness you have claimed me
Your own, your very own Son, your very
One you have created—your seed has gone
Deep, your seed has risen, resurrected, lifted
Up past the dust, past the rust, past daily feeling
Not good enough, lying there in the delay, in the
In between, raised in hesitation, his voice pounded
In vibration, the swelling from the yelling,
The sweat it took, the labor its been,
To get clean again, to get pure again,
To get that listen again, the clearway
Again, summer has always been good,
For under the Son I have overcome,
I have looked like new, I have remembered
You, I have written and written the days
Of failure, the days of trials, the days of
Darkness, and now it extends into my
Hands, this gift you have been, walking
With me, and walking in me

For turbulence, I pray grateful for it,
For hard and difficult and not easy,
I praise Him for it, for pain now that
Adds a somehow, that adds a new day
To the forever way—easy everyone always
Chooses, for life with bruises is the least
To like, the least to make right, the least
To be apart of—but you have shaped me
With words of truth like layers of a
Foundation, of a Holy situation, of a
Holy mountain to climb upon,
I thank for you being you,
For walking with me, for
Being with me in this time
In my life, for helping me daily
To see the light

For your love has been layers,
Layers over the years, layers
To build upon, for wood, hay
And stubble will melt like
Rubble, love will remain,
Like will build, love like
Layers to yield—fruit,
And roots and all kinds
Strong—I will live long,
I will honor you, I will
Breakthrough in this life
Full of pain, I will remember you
And the years of turbulence, of
Red eyed nights of fists and fights
And all sorts of fear, I
Honor you today, your layers
Have stuck with me—forever
And forever!

Happy Mother’s Day