‘Come back to yourself’ - Is this not a cry from a heart tethered to that ‘leash?’ Longing for connection yet disconnected from the spiritual reality around us? I agree with the comment- a psalm for our time. ☕️ 🌲 Saving this in my journal… so rich with images and beautifully written.
Hi Tanner. I am enjoying your poetry very much and would love to connect my ministry community with your work. I have a ministry called The Holy Shift, which helps people explore the surprising and paradoxical aspects of faith. Currently, I am working through a curriculum called Draw Near, Dwell Well, which explores soul care and spiritual formation practices that help us overcome overwhelm and connect deeply with God, ourselves, and others. I am releasing a new episode of The Holy Shift Show centered on “Slowing Down to the Speed of Love” this week, and would love to feature you and this poem on the blog in tandem with that segment. Would it be okay to do so? I will, of course, include a full bio and linkbacks.
this is just lovely, Tanner. I love your lines on listening for the ancient songs and remembering how to listen. it is true, at least for me, that i forget how to do that regularly. i was very glad to read you were safe from the tornado incident. be well...and...be. <3
Absolutely stunning. This poem reads like a psalm that’s been sipping herbal tea and skipping committee meetings. It’s a gentle slap to the soul—a barefoot invitation to sanity in a world that forgot how to whisper.
The cadence is prayerful without being preachy. And lines like “rushing won’t resurrect you” and “the grass preach peace to your skin”—those aren’t just poetic; they’re damn near liturgical. If Mary Magdalene wrote Instagram captions, they’d sound like this. If Jesus journaled after dodging the disciples, this might’ve spilled out in Gethsemane.
You’ve managed to hold the paradox—grace without platitude, presence without pretense. And the ending? Chef’s kiss. That trinity of God-listens, God-answers, God-is-with—you snuck theology into therapy like a holy ninja.
If you’re asking for feedback: don’t change a line unless you’re carving it into stone.
Blessed be the ones who wander back from the scroll hole to the soul hole.
Wow. I don't even know where to start or how to express what I felt when reading this. So I'm just gonna say thank you. For listening. For writing. For sharing. God has spoken to me in such a personal and deep level with your latest posts. (And I might be getting All the things I say to God on Amazon....among a copy of few of your other books, lol). Be blessed!
‘Come back to yourself’ - Is this not a cry from a heart tethered to that ‘leash?’ Longing for connection yet disconnected from the spiritual reality around us? I agree with the comment- a psalm for our time. ☕️ 🌲 Saving this in my journal… so rich with images and beautifully written.
Hi Tanner. I am enjoying your poetry very much and would love to connect my ministry community with your work. I have a ministry called The Holy Shift, which helps people explore the surprising and paradoxical aspects of faith. Currently, I am working through a curriculum called Draw Near, Dwell Well, which explores soul care and spiritual formation practices that help us overcome overwhelm and connect deeply with God, ourselves, and others. I am releasing a new episode of The Holy Shift Show centered on “Slowing Down to the Speed of Love” this week, and would love to feature you and this poem on the blog in tandem with that segment. Would it be okay to do so? I will, of course, include a full bio and linkbacks.
Such a wonderful poem!
Apparently I'm paying for Substack premium.
ayo!
this is just lovely, Tanner. I love your lines on listening for the ancient songs and remembering how to listen. it is true, at least for me, that i forget how to do that regularly. i was very glad to read you were safe from the tornado incident. be well...and...be. <3
Thanks for your kindness. So glad you're here.
Absolutely stunning. This poem reads like a psalm that’s been sipping herbal tea and skipping committee meetings. It’s a gentle slap to the soul—a barefoot invitation to sanity in a world that forgot how to whisper.
The cadence is prayerful without being preachy. And lines like “rushing won’t resurrect you” and “the grass preach peace to your skin”—those aren’t just poetic; they’re damn near liturgical. If Mary Magdalene wrote Instagram captions, they’d sound like this. If Jesus journaled after dodging the disciples, this might’ve spilled out in Gethsemane.
You’ve managed to hold the paradox—grace without platitude, presence without pretense. And the ending? Chef’s kiss. That trinity of God-listens, God-answers, God-is-with—you snuck theology into therapy like a holy ninja.
If you’re asking for feedback: don’t change a line unless you’re carving it into stone.
Blessed be the ones who wander back from the scroll hole to the soul hole.
—Virgin Monk Boy
Thanks for your kind words!
That poem, Come Back to Yourself, is melodious, nurturing, and full of quiet life. Thank you — I can feel my shoulders relaxing.
Heck of a compliment! Thanks :)
"The weight doesn't always change, but how I carry it does" = gold
yessss :)
Wow. I don't even know where to start or how to express what I felt when reading this. So I'm just gonna say thank you. For listening. For writing. For sharing. God has spoken to me in such a personal and deep level with your latest posts. (And I might be getting All the things I say to God on Amazon....among a copy of few of your other books, lol). Be blessed!
Hi! Thanks for the kind words :) I really hope you enjoy the books!
I'd suggest you grab Walk A Little Slower and All the Things I Say to God to start :)
“Rushing won’t resurrect” 🔥
mmmmhhhmmmmm!