What happens, he wonders,shattered by the mess, by the day,by the constancy of demands,by the ever-present lesson of patience,by the daily failure to learn this patience -What happens, he asks, when my love is broken?Nothing happens. The day goes on,all is reset as night arrives;all but the weight that pulls at his shoulders,that sags likeContinue reading “Ubi Caritas: For World Mental Health Day”
Category Archives: Poetry
Acedia
“… how we perform these often dispiriting duties, from the changing of a baby’s diaper to the bathing of an aged parent, reveals what kind of God we worship.” Kathleen Norris, Acedia & Me Weary, yet itching for greater things,Longing to change the world whilemy own heart lies stony and stagnant,I turnfrom the trifles ofContinue reading “Acedia”
Matins
O God,As the sun rises, again,a little sheepish, overthis hesitant day,prepare the wayfor my often straying feet.May my yesterdays not repeatexcept in the way Your grace has of givingevery new day for new ways of living.Keep me. Make me new:I have not lovedas I ought to have loved;I have not taken the good as gift;IContinue reading “Matins”
Chesed
To thinkwhere darkest nights have taken this soul,and how thinthe membrane between lifeand death, how loudthe Accuser has screamedto pierce the membrane and throw me through;yet hereI stand, with no reasonbeside You and the sheerleap into faith that saved,the softbelly of love into which I fell;so hereI stand, with myeldest in my arms whilehe reachesContinue reading “Chesed”
Father’s Day
You take it all, you and your brothers:my sleep, my leisure, my freedom,my heart.Daily I prepare myselfto lose myself,to find myselfin the joy of your laughter,the excitement of movement,the power unlocked from discoveringwords, actions, nodding or shaking,the lands that lie open to traverse as your feetbecome slowly, rapidly acquainted with walking.Daily this,all this, directsmy pulse,Continue reading “Father’s Day”
Into Silence
Attention is the beginning of devotion. Mary Oliver Startled by the beating of my own heart, the poundingof my thoughts in between my ears, I have foundnoise to be quieter than silence, have brokeredterms of peace armedwith a flashing screen.Nothing frightens likethe thought that you may not be enough; You are enough, are All. InContinue reading “Into Silence”
Desert Food
They also brought food for David and all who were with him, including wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, flocks, and cheese. For they said, “The people are no doubt hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the desert.” 2 Samuel 17:28-29 Mid-crisis, after yet another narrow escape,the fugitive king rests, and thisContinue reading “Desert Food”
Turning
The scent was masked as we walked, thoughhints of pollen pushed their way through cloth to me,and on returnas I parked the pram and setexcited new walkers free to roam, I soakedmy senses in the radianceof fruit trees delightingin new white-pink growth, and the hopethat if not now, soon at least,signs are sure, sure toContinue reading “Turning”
Learning to Splash
To prepare my children for a world of puddles,I must learn myself what to do with puddles,how to take the mud with the joy,how to wear the shock of the wet,how to delight in the splash.To prepare my children for a world of shadows,I must learn how to see the sun in the shadows,and howContinue reading “Learning to Splash”
Changeless
Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Collect for Compline, The Book of Common Prayer Full of contradiction, I am buoyedby the blossomContinue reading “Changeless”
The Consolations of Writing 