In Prison

*** Revised Common Lectionary *** Lectionary Reading: 1 Peter 3:13-22 CLASSIC POEM: In Prison C.S. Lewis I cried out for the pain of man, I cried out for my bitter wrath Against the hopeless life that ran For ever in a circling path From death to death since all began; Till on a summer night I lost my way in the pale starlight And saw our planet, far and small, Through endless depths of nothing fall A lonely pin-prick spark of light, Upon the wide, enfolding night, With leagues on leagues of stars above it, And powdered dust of stars below– Dead things that neither hate nor love it Not even their own loveliness can know, Being but cosmic dust and dead. And if some tears be shed, Some evil God have power, Some crown of sorrow sit Upon a little world for a little hour– Who shall remember? Who shall care for it? *** This poem is in the public domain, and may be read in a live-streamed worship service. CONTEMPORARY POEM: Etching of the Plague Years Mary Karr SNIPPET: In the valley of your art history book, the corpses stack in the back of a cart drawn by an ox whose rolling shoulder muscles show its considerable weight. He does this often. His velvet nostrils flare to indicate the stench. … [ READ THE FULL POEM ]