Last Sunday, Living Poetry held a Germination Workshop, hosted by our founder Angelika. In these workshops we present a series of prompts, write for about five minutes to each and then share what we wrote, if we feel so moved. I find these events very useful. It’s just enough time to get a good start on a poem and I have had multiple poems published that started life in a Germination Workshop. If you’d like to get involved in the next one, we hold them on Zoom a couple of times a year. Sign up for Living Poetry to be notified.
So, this week I’m stealing one of Angelika’s prompts. Let’s write a poem inspired by the Oscar Wilde quote, “Every Saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.”
Don’t forget to post your poem in the comments below.
Living Poetry 
Sinner to Saint
Sin, brings temporary joy.
Forever with us, it toys.
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Sin, you giggle, tote, do really bad things.
Forever with us, in our souls it sings.
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“Come to me.” The siren duth sing.
“Come to me. Your soul to me, bring.”
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Manifest the flesh.
Never! Never receive any rest.
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Born into sin. Die in sin.
However, a peace can fill-in.
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Grace is free.
Fill your soul with glee.
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Be washed in the blood of the lamb.
Open heavens dam.
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Angels sing in a heavenly chorus.
As the light of heaven penetrates our souls, porous.
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Soaking up the light of love.
Given freely to us from above.
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Sin, around each corner. Under each rock.
Doesn’t wait at the door to knock.
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Sin, hangs around your neck like a millstone.
Badges of shame, picking at your bones.
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Shame, society will not let die.
Shame, we cannot hide.
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God’s got your back.
He gave us the ultimate life hack.
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All we must do is ask.
For the holy Trinity, this is their task.
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Fill you with the love of Christ.
Sin, your soul, is always looking to heist.
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Let your past live in the past.
Give your future to Jesus, fast.
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Don’t let sin define your life.
Let go of the chains of strife.
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We have all done bad things.
Jesus was the only perfect person to walk this fragile earth with no strings.
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He has the power to forgive your sins.
Bring him your past, your soul he can mend.
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It’s a difficult path; a God filled future.
Do the work, your soul it will suture.
*Oscar Wilde, “Every Saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.”
Not a big fan of Oscar Wilde, so working with this prompt put me in different territory. However, there is another quote of his I like; “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
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Posted by Chico’s Mom | January 27, 2025, 10:57 AMMr. Wilde was quite quotable. Thanks for sharing, Jolene!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 27, 2025, 8:23 PMThank you
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Posted by Chico’s Mom | January 27, 2025, 8:47 PMNo halos here.
Just the worn wood of the pew, the stale air.
Saint.
He kneels, head bent like a broken stem.
But once, the dirt clung to his boots differently.
He remember the low bar, the smoky laugh,
the thirst, unquenched, a burning in the gut.
The other, across the aisle, a woman, face shadowed by a scarf, hands clasped, tight.
Sinner.
They call her that.
Whispered.
But the future is a blank page, unfurling, a stark white field after the first snow.
She could walk out into that whiteness, leave no footprints.
Redemption.
Damn them.
What do they know of the past, a lead weight, dragging behind you?
What do they know of a future, an empty vessel waiting to be filled?
Here ,in this cold space, no saints, no sinners.
Just pasts, heavy as stone.
Just futures, fragile as breath.
And the silence.
Always,the silence.
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Posted by Taylor W Mills | January 27, 2025, 1:54 PMLove those last four line. Brilliant! Thank for sharing, Taylor.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 27, 2025, 8:25 PMSinners Are Better
I’ve been a sinner.
I’ve been a saint.
I have a future.
I have a past.
I’ve been a saint.
Nobody liked me.
I have a past.
I was admired.
Nobody liked a saint who was better.
Sinners had options, saints only died.
I was admired
when I was a sinner.
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Posted by crazy4yarn2 | January 27, 2025, 2:01 PMI think that’s irony, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing, Nolcha!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 27, 2025, 8:30 PM🤣🤣🤣
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Posted by crazy4yarn2 | January 27, 2025, 8:32 PM