GREY FAITH
I believe in greys:
In the heavy moments before something
Happens: start, stop. Breathe.
I believe in the storm clouds before they rain.
I believe in greys:
Not black or white; ink being too final
For me; the grey softness of pencil; clay hands.
I believe in what can change.
I believe in greys:
The fuzz of the car seat; my mother’s absolution
Enough for me. Harsh streetlights—years—flashing past,
A silent film of sidewalks, dandelion wishes.
I believe that lamp posts burn longer than the moon.
I believe in the greys:
In the before, the tomorrows and change-ables;
In the hopes of dirty concrete and second chance.
I believe that
redemption
is stronger than hope.
—from Rattle #42, Winter 2013
__________
Grace L. Park: “I think poetry’s a bit like photography; both take snapshots of their creators and the subject. However, I find that like the best portraits, a good poem captures not only my feelings, but also how I got there and what my thought process was. ‘Grey Faith’ is a ‘portrait’ of my reaction to a quote by Sherry L. Hoppe: ‘Between the radiant white of a clear conscience and the coal black of a conscience sullied by sin lie many shades of gray—where most of us live our lives. Not perfect but not beyond redemption.’ I have a faith—a grey one—that believes redemption is stronger than hope.”
