Red Stuff is a collection of poetic cryings-out. They are cries for joy and of frustration, of terror and of thanksgiving. They are calls for help, and calls to action. They are maranathas, intercessions, and apocalypses. They are psalms for crises, and they are for you.
Here are timely poems that connect our most mundane moments to the cosmic eternities that shape reality, tracking a thread of truth that runs through every insecurity and anxiety and broken heart within humanity; sometimes that is all we have to offer the Creator, and here, Mike offers his. These poems are a gift.
There is not a single poem in Mike Bonikowsky’s ‘Red Stuff’ that I did not love. Every word is a word of lament, praise, worship, connection, question, awe of and too God.
“Sing to the Lord, all ye mid-restoration” – From Invocation –
His gift is in highlighting the pain of every day, be it through family life, or work. But not simply highlighting, he lays it at the feet of the cross and raises the lantern he keeps lit with words in readiness for the coming bridegroom. I was so blessed while being humbled while reading these words.