The purple decree

Naomi and Ruth

The purple decree

“Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die — there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” 
(Ruth to Naomi, The Book of Ruth 1:16-17)
 
Long years my cousin followed her church,
a true Christian, simple and clear.
Love one another.  Care for the poor.
Heap not up treasures upon this Earth.
Never one to be silent, she posed her good question:
“I am not black, but I marched for civil rights.
I am not a soldier, but I marched to bring them home.
I'm just an old white-haired woman.
Who am I to say that any human love is wrong?”
My cousin asked her questions in Sunday school.
She was asked to refrain.
Then came the purple decree.
In each parishioner’s mailbox, the purple paper
stating homosexuality is a sin.
My cousin gazed unblinking, 
steadfast, as her spiritual home,
her bedrock of belief and support,
fell away from her true center, her Self.
“I quit my church on Friday,” she messaged to me.
“This is NOT MY GOD!”
Now my cousin’s days are lavished
on the church of God’s nature,
days spent with the water, the trees,
the quiet of her thoughts and prayers,
in the places where Love lives.


“Whither thou goest I shall go.” 
(Ruth declaring her love for Naomi, The Book of Ruth 1:16-17) 



Annelinde Metzner
August 30, 2013



The above quote from the Old Testament is from the Book of Ruth, the story of two women, Ruth and Naomi, and their undying love for each other.  In the passage, "Ruth clung to Naomi," (chapter 1 verse 14,) the Hebrew word for "clung to" is the same as the verb describing the feelings of Adam for Eve.   Many couples married in Christian churches have used the above verses, Ruth's declaration of love for Naomi, in their wedding ceremonies.

Naomi and Ruth

Naomi and Ruth

My cousin Mardy

Retreat at Owl's Nest

Owl's Nest

Retreat at Owl’s Nest   
                                   
Sleeping in the forest, I remember:
    how urgently each of these trees grew,
    poplar, maple, oak, green with new life,
    whose trunks now lay patiently
    one upon another
    to make my cabin here.
Sleeping in the forest.

In the grey mist of the morning rain,
    as droplets fall from leaf to leaf
    tapping ratamacues on the long eaves
    of the galvanized roof,
    I feel the power of Black Dome, not far away,
    pulsing energy and strength to us
    throughout the day.
In the grey mist.

As I settle into this cabin,
    silence cradling me like a welcoming shawl,
    silence down the steep grade
    and up onto the ridge,
    silence, the true balm, singing Her healing song;
    the pen comes to my hand, and is welcomed there,
    the impetus springing clear and true from my heart,
and I write.



Annelinde Metzner
Wildacres Retreat
August 6, 2013 


 
Many thanks to Wildacres Conference Center, where I was awarded a week-long artist's retreat to write poetry and compose music.  

  

Morning mist

   

Stone path at Wildacres

Piano where I composed music

Shout!

One of 900 North Carolinians arrested at Moral Mondays in Raleigh

North Carolina, my home of twenty-six years,
exquisite land of magic mountains,
birthplace of openmindedness and love.
Our government is hurting us now.
What will our people do?

Five hundred thousand will go untreated,
without medical care that could have been free.
Those in Raleigh who represent us
thumb their noses at all things Obama.
They reject Federal money for unemployment
so two hundred thousand jobless people will be cut.
What will our people do?

Teachers here in my home state, paid so very low,
are leaving, they are leaving,
or teach in classrooms so crowded,
no learning occurs at all.
What will our people do?

Health clinics are shut down.
Women, juggling too much, too much
to allow another child to be born,
will resort to the back alleys once more.

And our vote! Our right to vote!
Shorten the voting days, multiply the hoops,
allow voting lines to go around the block,
so that one after another, the people of color,
the students, the disenfranchised, the elderly
give up on the vote, their sacred vote,
give up on Democracy and just go home,
as hoped-for in Raleigh, as if following the plan.
What will our people do?

Our government is hurting us now,
killing us really,
and we must not be quiet!
No, do not be quiet!
Shout! Shout! Shout!



Annelinde Metzner
August 2, 2013


Read more about the heartless actions of the NC state government, which will have long-reaching effects on all North Carolinians, but especially the weakest, neediest members of the population.

North Carolinians are reeling from a wide-reaching onslaught of legislation by a state government newly created by ultra right-wing funding of small local elections.
 
The North Carolina NAACP has initiated "Moral Mondays" in Raleigh, which has inspired the largest protest rallies in the nation this year.   Nine hundred brave souls volunteered to undergo arrest for "trespassing" at our State Capitol. 

The movement has expanded from Raleigh to the mountains, where Moral Monday will occur in Asheville,  NC on August 5th at 5 PM in front of the city hall.

Woman arrested in Raleigh at Moral Mondays

Woman arrested in Raleigh at Moral Mondays

Reverend Barber, president of the NC NAACP,  at the NC Capitol Rotunda

Crowd at Moral Mondays

Women for health care in NC

Sign at Moral Mondays