c. 2008 Religion News Service

CLEVELAND _ Sitting in the living room of her bright blue house on the city’s East Side, Gale Henderson holds up two photographs of herself: One shows a smiling child about 3 years old, the other a somber adolescent of 14.

A series of life-changing moments in 1993 brought that young woman’s smile back and turned Henderson into a spiritual poet who has shaken and stirred the souls of audiences for nearly 15 years.

Henderson, 49, doesn’t tire of telling her stories of transformation and inspiration.

She starts to talk about coming home after almost losing her life in an operation and finding her Bible open to the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Suddenly her hands and arms move to the rhythm of free-flowing verse, a commanding voice emerges from somewhere deep inside, and the living room becomes a stage for a message that will not be held back:

“I picked up the Bible that day, and my life has never been the same.

“He took the anger and bitterness and pain from my heart, and he added love.

“And he gave me something more, these words,

“And now my heart sings like a bird, joy, joy, joy.”

This is the Gale Henderson who sees herself as a modern-day Jeremiah, the prophet given “the words you must speak” to the people.

But others who have heard her _ in church services and programs, at weddings and funerals, amid community celebrations _ see her as a breathtakingly fresh poetic voice. If Russell Simmons had a “Def Spiritual Poetry” show, they tell her, she would be the star.

Her voice does not convey the angry, raw lyrics of artists on Simmons’ “Def Poetry” on HBO, but it carries the urgency and conviction of the edgiest modern poets, words that transcend the ordinary and come from a deep part of her being.

Several times during an interview, Henderson switches from normal conversation to her poetic voice to express her thoughts.

“I may not be Maya Angelou, but sit back and relax and let your hearts flow.

“I feel there’s something we all need to know. …

“To the highest mountains, to the lowest valley, I’ll even speak to the younger people in the alleys.”

“God’s word will be heard.”

Henderson was raised in Cleveland by a single mother who brought her up in a Baptist church. But she “grew up pretty mean and pretty rough,” and the unsmiling teenager in family photos reflects that toughness.

In January 1993, at age 35, Henderson suffered a burst appendix during emergency gall-bladder surgery. Through pastoral visits, financial help from her church and conversations with God at home and in the hospital, Henderson says, she found a new purpose in life.

“I asked God if he would put my feet on solid ground. I would do his will some way, somehow.”

That “some way” would be poetry. A women who had never written a poem found herself using verse in a thank-you note. Then, in a talk at church, Henderson says, the poetry just flowed out of her.

One church visit led to another, which led to another. People asked her to speak at weddings and funerals.

“When you go to that cemetery, don’t be sad, it’s only temporary.” Nearly 15 years later, the invitations keep rolling in. As in her first poetry performance, she will not write a script, but will pray before she goes on and allow the Holy Spirit to guide her voice.

“I’m not a preacher. I’m a reacher, and what comes from the heart will reach another heart.”

She has had 11 more operations since 1993, the most recent in 2006 for a hernia. Yet the woman who did not smile could not be happier today. Inside her house, surrounded by portraits and figures of guardian angels, Henderson says, “I smile so much my cheeks hurt. It literally hurts, I’m so happy.

“And God has given me a brand new start.

“And I’m not going to tell you I’m an angel.

“But I decided to change my life and look at life at a different angle.

“And I may not be what I’m supposed to be.

“But I’m better than what I used to be.”

Henderson claps her hands, smiles and leans back on the couch, unable to hide her happiness at the impromptu poetry.

“I love it,” she says. “I love it.”

(David Briggs writes for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.)

KRE/LF END BRIGGS725 words

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