Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay: Book Giveaway at The Historical Novel Review

For any readers who are interested, The Historical Novel Review will be giving away a copy of Guy Gavriel Kay's newest novel, Under Heaven. You can enter the contest by clicking here.

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay--Book Giveaway at Victoria Dixon's blog

For those interested in Guy Kay's newest novel, Under Heaven, Victoria Dixon is giving away a copy. To go to her blog and enter the contest, click here.

a prayer

I was a rock, till He crushed me 'neath the weight of His gaze
I was a sea, till He drowned me in the flood of His tears
I was the Crown of my People,
And now, I am extinguished ashes 'neath His Feet
Oh You who overwhelmed my heart in plaintive prayer,
And engulfed these eyes in Noah's flood--
Oh You who broke the supple body of Jeremiah,
As if his bones were naught but brittle cakes--
Oh You who exiled your faithful servant to the desert of loneliness and grief,
Where even his friends turned away, calling him "liar"
Hear, oh Lord, my prayer,
For my cries ring out as theirs
From the depths I sing out to You,
From the depths of the pit of grief, from the unseen
Hear, oh Lord, the lamenting song
Of your broken-hearted servant

Candle Vigil for the Living

Green church swaying--
Red blood pouring--
Golden hands kneeling before devastated alter--

White beads praying--
Yellow hair falling--
Black bits of yesterday's newsprint littering, littering--

Sacred lips soaring--
Mirrored eyes spilling--
Candle feet brilliant burning, burning--

Silent quake scorching--
Feathered wings beating--
Living God White Fire entering, entering

The Reality of Difficult Times

Most of us are hurting now. The economy is in the toilet, of course. The unemployment rate is nearing 10%--a staggering figure that seemed inconceivable just a few short years ago. Yes, people are hurting to make the rent, to buy food, to simply survive day by day. But this is only the beginning.

It is in times like these when the sugary exterior of our collective culture begins to wear thin--it is in times like these when people begin to feel all that we are missing. In times like these, we are confronted with our own poverty. And not simply the poverty of our purses, but more importantly the poverty of our society and culture.

Where are we to turn in difficult times? To the family from which we've grown distant and estranged? To friends who we hardly know, and who barely know us? How are we to survive these times--and not merely to survive them, but to come through them stronger, wiser, and more vibrant people?

There comes a point where there isn't much to say anymore. Maybe it's simply that one runs out of words, or that the faith to say things with conviction dries up. Or maybe one simply realizes that words don't mean very much unless they are spoken in right time, right place, and to the right people. "Those who have ears let them hear."

There comes a point where all human interaction seems...pointless. Not in a bad way--one simply ceases to feel that there is anything worth saying. A kind of quietness descends.

Everything becomes a waiting game, a game of patience. God willing, we will find a way to endure.