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Open Poetry #35
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Forbidden Fruit
| Open Poetry #35 |
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Forbidden Fruit |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana 
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Communion in a country Baptist church Gave months with five Sundays an appeal Saved for the faithful on Fifth Sunday nights In remembrance of the Savior's last meal. I loved the smell that would suffuse our home As Mother prepared the unleavened bread, Enjoyed the reverence of the service When Pastor spoke the words that Jesus said. The rules were strict, fermented wine forbidden, So bottled grape juice was the substitute. My mouth would water as they poured the glasses -- We rarely had such luxuries as fruit. But participation was limited; Communion saved for those who'd been baptized, The kids supposed to sit there piously For that commitment we'd not realized. But finally, when the last prayer was done The unblessed leavings safe to be divided Between the wide-eyed kids, a bite and swallow Not one of us would have to be invited! Sometimes the shares were meagerly small And left excited tastebuds craving more A wish less would be taken by the service Rose fervently toward heaven from my core. I visit now, this church that lingers, dying; There are no children, no young families Only the old, still faithful til they lie Close by the church beneath the pecan trees A guest here now, I am choked by the thought: Could dwindling church rolls and the empty pews Somehow be answer to a selfish prayer And one small child's thirst for a sip of juice? |
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| © Copyright 2005 suthern - All Rights Reserved | |||
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
intreging and sad write...very well done, loved the way this flowed  thank you for sharing.... |
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Enchantress Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113Canada eh. |
A beautiful nostalgic look back.. and then the final question. "A guest here now, I am choked by the thought: Could dwindling church rolls and the empty pews Somehow be answer to a selfish prayer And one small child's thirst for a sip of juice?" Yes. Very much enjoyed this..a keeper for sure! Hugs lovely lady~ ~Somewhere in my heart I'm always |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
suthern I say you are grown now, past the guilt the child felt. Enjoyed this look back...very descriptive!  |
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Cpat Hair
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793 |
familiar scenes you conjour up here.... and conjour you did..a lot of thoughts..as well as a lot of memories... nicely doen m'friend.. nicely done |
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Magnus
since 2001-10-10
Posts 14135South Carolina, USA |
You paint a portrait that many of us have dapped a drop or two upon. I still remember the grape juice....the bread...and the eyes of the other children...hoping! |
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Earth Angel Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215Realms of Light |
The flow was rich and mellow ~ and mood-setting. Nostalgia vividly portrayed. I grew up on the hard stuff! ~ Wine at our services!  A beautifully written poem, Belle. Loveyalotsuknow! Linda |
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Janet Marie Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554 |
Oh... a new trick huh? trying to lure me in with your title? ya know I thought this was about raspberries.  LOLSeriously tho...this rhyme speak reflective write struck me on several levels...a bittersweet offering of expression and your imagery and scene setting is wonderful... placing the reader there in the flashback of time... life is a constance of things coming full circle...me thinks the "child, the guest" and the poet all know that. |
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timothysangel1973
since 2001-12-03
Posts 1725Never close enough |
WOW this was awesome Suthern I remember eating the little crackers and drinking the juice at church when I was a kid... ofcourse then, it was like a snack in church cause I was too little to understand what it all meant. Great write you have penned here. Thanks for sharing |
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passing shadows Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577displaced |
thanks for the memory here we had wine at our services, and boy did I ever love that! Besides being able to smack my dad to get him to stop snoring through the sermon, the bread and wine was the best part... ((((hugs you)))) |
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Ericc Member Elite
since 2003-01-31
Posts 4178 |
Wow...wonderful, moving write. Eric |
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Marge Tindal
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
SweetSuthernGal~ Conjured up many a memory with this one~ And ... believe it or not ... I once had the same feelings of 'guilt' when, as an adult, I visited the small country church I spiritually grew up in~ I soooo understand this ... but couldn't have written it~ *Huglets* ~*Marge*~ ~*When the heart grieves over what it has lost, |
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Seymour Tabin Member Empyrean
since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720Tamarac Fla |
suthern What JM said. Excelent write. |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
The sound of a memory of want, a later tale of what we wanted may have been the wrong thing, and now we are...denied... No...no guilt here, little one... truth is, even churches have a life, and a span... and believe it or not, there are new churches growing, all the time. May yours rest in peace, or be reborn with a new testament. |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
I am so glad you posted this.... I know you've felt reticent lately, but truly, this poem deserves a wide audience. There's so much of Laura in it, and within it. Thank you for giving me the opportunity you gave me with it....it's an honor to be trusted with a newborn poem. ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> ______________Ratleader______________ |
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jellybeans Member Elite
since 2000-10-13
Posts 2298 |
wow, what memories...I know when I was little, the Lord's supper was only for the invited... I thank God the one I attend now is not like that, all are welcome yound and old alike, for how are the young to desire to partake if they are not welcomed? great write! |
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Susan Caldwell Member Rara Avis
since 2002-12-27
Posts 8348Florida |
I do not think a childs wish could be so powerful to empty a church's future... This was indeed wonderful...even to this 'ole agnostic..  "too bad ignorance isn't painful" |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
LeeJ: Thank you very much, kind lady. *S* To intrigue you is an honor. *S* Enchantress: I am so glad you enjoyed… thank you very much! *S* Martie: Thank you… I’m glad you enjoyed! *S* Cpat: Such small repayment for the many times you’ve opened the gate to Memory Lane for me. *S* Thank you! *S* Magnus: Thank you so much. *S* A rest stop on a long trip, a choice of juice to quench my thirst and wake me up… and I was seeing those eyes again… including my own. *S* Earth Angel: LOL My Dad is so Baptist he won’t even participate in communion at my sister’s church because they use wine… obviously that chapter in the Bible where Jesus turns water into wine isn’t big at his church. LOL Thank you so much! *S* JM: ROFL @ you and your raspberries… they didn’t even cross my mind??? LOL But hey… I’ll take readers however I can get them! LOL Thank you so very much! *S* timothysangel: Thank you so very much… I’ll be smiling all day at your “awesome” *S* PS: LOL… I’ve aimed many a kick at the back of my uncle’s pew to stop just such noises… thank you so much!!! *G* Ericc: You humble me, kind sir… and I’m grateful… thank you! *S* Marge: Silver Creek’s seams nearly pop at Easter… for all of those “kids” who once waited and hoped with me return with their children and grandchildren… but the usual attendance is 20 or less. However… better people aren’t to be found… whatever sadness I feel as I sit there is more than balanced with knowing how lucky I was to grow up there. *S* Seymour: Thank you so much, my friend. *S* Sunshine: I think it will end up resting in peace… there aren’t any jobs out there and the thought of commuting more than 100 miles a day is more than enough to make moving the option for most… But peace is something I know they’ll have… they’ve more than earned it. *S* Thank you! *S* Ratleader: Thank you so much for your wonderful response, my friend… thank you even more for making this posting possible. *S* Your generosity amazes me as much as your unmatched poetic talent… Your willingness to teach and make other’s words better is a gift to us all… I thank you most sincerely for your edits that took this from pondering to poem. *S* jellybeans: Thank you so very much, my friend… I’m glad you liked my memories! *S* Susan: I wish my prayers had that much power now! *S* I’d be giving God an earache with my list! LOL Thank you so very much! *S* |
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
Phenominal write, suthern. I remember the same....and the tray would come around with the precious little goblets of grape juice on it...and of course, I was not a member... and I was thirsty and hungry, too. And, the way I saw it, even little children had the right to communinion with Jesus. Once I told the preacher's wife, that a bear ate our bread while we were on vacation, hoping she would let me have some of the left over bread (simply because I let her know I was hungry)....the bear part really was true but I imagine my mom did have bread at home at the time... she told me I was going to go to hedoublehockeysticks if I didn't quit telling lies. I was 7, and a little underfed... what can I say? That church no longer exists... it was destroyed by a flood the following year. The preacher and his wife left, of course, for a bigger and better church, and the folks left built a new church which is there when I go home but only full of the dwindling old faithful. Wow, see how I ramble! The effects of thinking about the forbidden fruit....I guess. ....jo |
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