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i don’t go to church anymore
but that’s not what
this is about
i won’t write about religion
i won’t write about
how it tore me
apart inside
or a god that
supposedly judged me
for everything
everything
no i don’t want to write
about that
i was invited to go
to church
a family friend asked
me to take her
so i did
i stood like a statue
not bitterly
not angrily
just waiting til it was over
i always found the rhythm
of a church service interesting
sitting
standing
sitting
standing
this is what i was thinking about
when an elderly couple
in front me rose for the
100th time
the woman assisted her friend
to his feet
he stood with great difficulty
slowly rising
his body curling upwards
bone by bone
maybe it was her lover
or friend
it doesn’t really matter
the gesture was so beautiful
and kind
so giving
so completely selfless
i thought
as i also rose for the 100th time
this is why i came today
to see this
it had nothing to do with god
nothing to do with
religion
it was its own religion
its own faith
within that simple gesture
was god

Published by Jeremiah Ray

Jeremiah Ray is an interdisciplinary artist and writer living and working in the coastal Maine region. He has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His visual artwork is much like his life insofar as it is a constant journey of exploration and discovery. In his formative years, Jeremiah traveled extensively, exploring languages and cultures to fulfill a need for both adventure and as instruments of further understanding himself. Jeremiah completed his MFA in studio art with one intention - to teach. He desired to assist others in finding and honing their unique, personal language. He has always believed that art transcends verbal communication. Discovering one's voice in an individual medium and utilizing it to articulate nonverbally is the greatest obstacle and the most potent ability. In 2016 Jeremiah was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. This drastically shifted his perspective on art, visual and written, and solidified his firm belief that they are indeed a universal language. Straddled with the emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis, Jeremiah became increasingly aware that he often lacked the adequate vocabulary to understand and share his experiences fully. As such, during the most trying time in his life, he set the task of answering two core questions. First, what is vulnerability? And secondly, how do I communicate this with others? Still in recovery, Jeremiah has retained these as primary questions when beginning a project, understanding that vulnerability is intrinsic to being human and transcends language and culture.

Published