Andrew Kooman
Honorable Mention 2007 Utmost Christian Poetry Contest $100
About this Christian Poet:
Andrew Kooman has taken to heart the words of Christ St. Matthew recorded in his gospel that "every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
Andrew's poetry has appeared in Rock and Sling and has won various Utmost awards. A series of short stories he wrote about gender-based injustice is presently featured in PhotogenX's 30 Days of Prayer for the Voiceless which has impacted people around the world and was recently translated into five languages. His first play, Shelter, was selected for the Scripts at Work program in Red Deer, Alberta to be developed and read publicly in April 2007. Andrew lives in Red Deer, Alberta, and presently is studying Web Design.
Together We Examine My Heart, Seven Years Later
i.
I swear it was right here
the last time I checked
cold and sticky as a frog
frantic
except when cupped in your
hand
uglier, more fascinating
than expected
ii.
you should have known
it would be a costly endeavour
that it would take time to examine
approached it with the energy
of a NASA scientist
dreaming of colonies,
greenhouses that grow tomatoes on
Mars
never to leave the
grey-walled cubicle
float weightless in space
never to see or breathe or
walk the planet just
dream it
sense it, feel toward it
through meticulous science
probing from afar
stubborn, damned wonder
tucked in your shirt pocket
beside all the pencils
creating a way to see
iii.
this new vision
means a new
blindness too
you strain to see the planets
and forget the
shape of mountains
blades of grass
what it is to trudge
through the mud
and scrape off your
boots
iv.
I heard of a city
miles high
and just as wide
inside
street after street
concrete
billboards
and endless building projects
the skyline smudged
with smog
v.
come away with me
take my hand
we’ll run
to a place that is quiet
where we can
remember laughter,
get out of the city
sit as long as it takes
until we see again
wait for the stars
Copyright ©2007 by Andrew Kooman