Oasis Madrid

the new year
by troy cady

the new year,
limpid and limping,
straggled in disheveled,
packing illness,
coughing like
only intermittent firecrackers
cast surreptitiously from the balcony

i saw the odd roman candle lit
on the smoky street,
(the city clouded in smog,
the ground more brown than green)
but only as if from a passing side view

and then friends came and went,
the girls recovered from sickness,
the little finn returned to her homeland
after solving one last puzzle

and my Friend,
our Friend,
suddenly passing by january six,
like an epiphany,

and beforeyouknowit we see,
and she sees,
like an epiphany

the coughing is gone now
and

she

can

breath

steady

enough

to swallow the air
and gasp—AHA!

all signs may point otherwise
but this is a year of hope

i can feel it

light a candle

Holidays
by Troy Cady

Yesterday
we painted
our textured wall
together
a stronger
color;
brighter blood,
carefully trimming
and boldly rolling.

And today
you and we are
unfaded
solid.

Yesterday was
Thanksgiving
and tomorrow comes Advent
and you are in between.

Yesterday I gave thanks for you,
and feasted on the passing of
a hard winter
and the coming of
a harvest singer.
And you have fed me.

And tomorrow I’ll remember once again
that you are God’s gift,
sent to save me;
a star to guide me;
and I am a shepherd,
leaping in fits
and singing off-key
at having found and first
caught sight of you.

And, yes,
this is why your birthday
falls on or between
thanks
and
giving.

Because, yes,
the day you came into this world
was a holiday.

In fact, you may have been
conceived
on Valentines Day,
about nine months earlier.

I would not doubt it,
since, in you,
I see love
and red
and heart.

And so it makes sense that
yesterday
we covered our
contoured life
fresher
with crimson
and today
we sit in front of
a mile wide smile.

I welcome
this new day,
this holiday,
this birth
day,
but I cannot give
anything,
because
you are the gift.

The Shepherd
by Troy Cady

He did not roam in pastures green, but brown
and burnt terrain. He slept with stones, alone
and dry; scarred head, blood drawn; eyes drown
for want of tears for which he would atone.

And shorn, cut cold, his clothes stripped off, apiece,
askew. The cursing wind clawed at his skin.
Once clean, now soiled, his faded, thick, grayed fleece,
divided thieves and greed. And bore their sin.

And yet his voice moans low, yet strong, and bleats
and pleads and calls, “Forgive!”. And feet, now hard,
tread soft on sharp, chipped rocks. His heart still beats
yet soon will cease. His soul—in hell—is charred.

Though I can see how God became a man,
I wonder why the shepherd was the lamb.

Leaving
by Troy Cady

And he recalls those days of limp wet leaves,
of walks in rain and talks beyond the why’s
of friends. She placed her small soft hand in lies
and stroked the pain enclosed and clenched; he grieved,
chest taut and tense till now, and found relief
in sobs. Her mouth kept still. And warm damp sighs,
pale skin, lithe heart, held gaze, brave soul, and time
had eased his fears to sleep with fresh wet heaves.

Ash trees let go of torn, spent leaves. They held
before through seasons that had always fall
or winter chill, but now astir, they blew
from wind that once was ire. Air cooled, they fell
by cloud and mist and droplets pure. Her call
he heard. Like limp wet leaves, he dropped, then flew.

Blue and Gold
by Troy Cady

1.
This morning
the city is gold on blue,
the air cool,
a yellow unfinished building
stabs the sky’s belly
(neither skyscraper nor house,
but somewhere in between,
rising to mediocre heights
in unremarkable form,
squares making rectangles).

It coughs: hammer, drill, trowel;
and screams with saws.
Slopped grey mortar
(mixed with grubby, stubby hands,
rough and numb with cold)
forms its heart.

And i am vacant, chill emptiness,
suitable only for squatting.

Next door lies a dirt lot,
leveled to no purpose,
equally empty and dusty.

All this built on land
that’s called
“Slaves of the Eucharist”.

………………….

2.
She is gold and blue.
Priceless and true.
Outside and in.
Soul and skin.
Hair and heart.
Mind and art.

She is pure innocence,
skipping among the ruined,
expectant plots,
stabbing sorrow’s chest,
light in gloom.

Yet she is still,
hidden and precious,
elusive,
waiting to be discovered

And i am a miner,
digging.

i am my daughter.

………………………….

3.
Tomorrow,
He and the city
will be gold in blue;
streets and sky,
both endless;
buildings and hearts,
equally eternal.

Sorrow surrounds;
yet despair becomes hope,
new horizons,
in the pure light
of the city’s new sun.

For gold stabbed gold;
greed pierced innocence
when pale cowardice
killed rich majesty.

And blue became blue
when resurrection flogged suffering
and freedom crucified injustice.

So, tomorrow there
will be gold and blue.
A day when vice turns to perfection,
when pain turns to sky,
sky
sky,
limitless sky and sun,
for His eyes are the air
and His heart is the greatest pulsing star.

Yes, tomorrow
there will be blue
and there will be gold
without end,
for in His body, he carries
the spear and coin,
death and avarice,
yet love and joy.

Yes, He carries it all.

He is the Eucharist,
the old and new colors.

So, tomorrow, I will say,
“I am complete—the days of cement,
wet or hardened,
are ended.
I am filled with His life.
I am no longer a slave.
I am a Child of the Eucharist.
I am a Child, skipping forever.”

I am His and He is mine.
blue and gold.
blue and Gold.
Blue and Gold.

Oasis Madrid produces a number of original scripts that you can use in corporate worship settings. Below is a list of titles. Click on the links to view the scripts.

* The Inn (a monologue by Troy Cady)
* The Welcome (a monologue by Troy Cady)
* Hunter’s Gifts (a monologue by Troy Cady)
* Voluntary Orphan (a monologue by Troy Cady)

Synopsis: Hunter recalls a time in his childhood when he learned first-hand how God provides.

Character: Hunter

Time: The present

Place: Anywhere

Props: None

Notes: There is very little suggested in the way of dramatic interpretation in this script. This restraint was intentional. The actor may, if he so wishes, add variety to the performance through “pretending” to be the various people to which Hunter refers. Of course, the actor is encouraged to use his imagination in utilizing variety of pitch, rhythm, tempo, volume and emotion in order to create dramatic tension and resolution.

Copyright Note: This play is protected under copyright law and performance is strictly prohibited without the express consent of the author. Though production is generally granted royalty free, please contact Troy Cady at troy@oasismadrid.org for permission to perform this play.

Read more »

Synopsis: The Bible tells us that Mary “pondered” the wonder of Christ’s birth in her heart. This drama takes a look at some of the things she may well have been thinking. The incarnation is loaded with mystery.

Setting: The stable. Perhaps it could look more like a cave. The drama can take place in either a modern setting or a biblical setting.

Director’s Note: Originally this drama was packaged with a song by Chris Rice called “Welcome to Our World.” Mary sang the song as part of the drama.

Copyright Note: This play is protected under copyright law and performance is strictly prohibited without the express consent of the author. Though production is generally granted royalty free, please contact Troy Cady at troy@oasismadrid.org for permission to perform this play.

Read more »

Synopsis: Bethlehem is a short walk away from Jerusalem, but Bethlehem became Jerusalem on that memorable night. As Bethlehem’s innkeeper tells about the history of his hotel, of his love for Bethlehem and the wonder of Jesus’ birth he marvels at the irony of God being born in a cave next to a failing business in a town where no one wants to stop.

Setting: An inn. The drama can take place in either a modern setting or a biblical setting.

Copyright Note: This play is protected under copyright law and performance is strictly prohibited without the express consent of the author. Though production is generally granted royalty free, please contact Troy Cady at troy@oasismadrid.org for permission to perform this play.

Read more »

Time: The present.

Place: A forest.

Synopsis: The character calls himself Everyman, but he clearly is a real person with a real name. He’s an orphan, searching for identity. He grew up in a “stable” home, until everything fell apart. That’s when he found out he didn’t really belong. So, he ran away. In this scene, we see him in his new home, his final destination, the forest.

Author’s notes: This play was originally inspired by a song called “Belong” by Chris Rice (on his album “Smell the Color Nine”). The lyrics to that song fit perfectly with this script and together the script and the song would make a nice “package” for presentations. Currently, however, there is a different song written into the script. If you like, you can omit the current suggestion for music at the beginning and end of the script and substitute “Belong” for that. The song currently suggested is called “I Could Run Away” and it’s by a group called Waterdeep. The Waterdeep song also, of course, fits rather well with the script.

Production notes: This play was first performed by Troy Cady at the Crossroads International Church in Amsterdam, Holland on 3 August, 2003. Kelly Crull performed the Waterdeep song with two or three other musicians. For scenery, we had rather a lot of leaves, branches, old logs, pine needles, pine cones, and such on the stage. The more you can do to suggest the setting of a forest, the better. I would encourage you to use your imagination with the scenery.

Copyright Note: This play is protected under copyright law and performance is strictly prohibited without the express consent of the author. Though production is generally granted royalty free, please contact Troy Cady at troy@oasismadrid.org for permission to perform this play.

Read more »