Nothing to Fear
Nothing to fear, but fear itself –Until it calls your name.It creeps in silent, masked in stealth,Then fills your heart with shame.It twists your thoughts till all you see –A ghost that points his blame.The ghost speaks soft of those who’ve shined, Of ones you see stand tall – Their light so bright that you’re…
King Solomon Talks with Wendell Berry and Sisyphus about the Cedars of Lebanon
…Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. – Wendell Berry, “Manifesto” In terms, he says, of a return on your investment, Pine is best. Quickest to shoot, and a versatile wood. Your sequoias, Wendell, are senseless. Granted, I luxuriate in…
Tenacious
I look upon the Autumn scene And leaves that only yesterday were green With vividness of Summer’s sheen – Now faded, drab, or gone. But here and there against the sky A gold leaf quivers, soon to lie When Autumn’s chill wind makes it fly Into leaf-drifts on the lawn. Yes, high upon a barren…
All the World is a Passing Thing
All the world is a passing thing, more fleeting than the rain, The sun rides up, the sun rides down, another day to gain, And when the summer first has come, in shades and scents of June, At once the year is riding down, unto a winter moon, The friend of morn is a foe…
They Understood None of These Things
Luke 18:34. What do parables have to do with us? Can’t you just say what we’re supposed to do And leave your baffling stories in the dust? Spreading seeds, burning weeds, debtors who owed, Lost sheep, lost coin, lost son, the wealthy fool, The beaten man found half-dead on a road, That weird one of…
Fail the Fires
Fail the fires, fail the light And fail the stars upon the night, In darkness be the Earth unmade, Till even ashen embers fade; Still here I stand and here I stay, Through frigid night and bitter day, And though we spin on shadow’s lathe, And though we struggle in our faith, I will not…
Epiphany
We are no longer at ease here, we who’ve been disturbed by the sprung rhythm of Coinherence – this Child in us, and we in Him. Like so many wise men, we mount the saints’ stair with fickle pace and laggardly gifts in tow, trekking our way up from the House of Bread. But not…
Stand in Silence
~ Stand in silence, O thou man: Be mute before the mystery. Thy mouth betrays thine ignorance; Let angels be a tongue for thee. Stand in silence, O thou man: Let holy terror be thy praise, For Wisdom’s Word is spoken here; So learn the number of thy days. Kneel in silence, O thou man,…
Rise
Thick, mist-forged shackles held us in the cave, imprisoned for the crime of losing all. We saw nothing but shadows on the wall— they gamboled and they taunted us. We gave in to the dark. A crushing fear replaced our hope for liberation with despair. Our cries withered to whimpers on thin air out in…
Words Are Violence Softest
Words are violence softest. Limits beginning. The course of life by which we will be judged— how our utterance led all others to one thought or eclipsed the next. As boys we were corrupted by a false king and other fantasies, the designs of dirty old men imprinted on us through text with digits ethereal,…