I went to the midweek contemplative service at Saint Andrew’s United Church of Canada last night. One of the many reasons I love going to this is the quiet opening I can feel inside of me…the combination of a grounding and a freeing that has me pick up a pen and paper with a certain…
Tag: Poetry
Light finds Like
Compel me to know your ways, O Love; instruct me upon your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for through you I will know wholeness; I shall reflect your Light both day and night. -Psalm 25 I paused here this morning while praying., considering the reflection of Light…Light offered and Light received…
Veins of sound and ink: A Poem
Veins of Sound and Ink Words hold storiesin their veins of sound and ink.Memory tales and new trailsblazed by the sensessparking syllable by syllable. Words: Today;consider; imagination.Sentences: She stoppedat the corner, turningleft this time. Chapters: Andshe kept walking,taking noteof textures and colours,the scents and the sighing. Books: Taking noteand steeping it allin the freshwaterconversation runningthrough…
Stories Surrounding: a poem with audio
Stories Surrounding Do not judgethe five minutesbefore click-closing and goodnightcustomer wearing his hoodieup and bringing his smudgy suitcase in;this customer, wheeling in on the well tumbled cushion of whatever good time he’d been having.Do not judgethis customer who was surprisedand grateful we were still herebecause his social workerbrought him here when he was elevenand bought him Coralineand he’d…
Sighs Too Deep: A Poem
Of late I have been going to a contemplative prayer on Wednesday evenings and finding it to be profoundly nourishing. Sometimes I come home and write out of the fullness I feel because it’s more than I can hold inside…I find that poetry is a good container for what spills over. Too Deep Too deep,…
Senses of Contemplation (a poem)
Senses of Contemplation (Wednesdays at Saint Andrew’s)Warm dust and candle;stained glass archways into the story; smooth-worn wooden spirals bearing your light;the comfort-music of stillness;the full-bodied enticing awareness of limitless, of home, of Still Morethat was you and is you now and will be so onward and deeper intothe unknown Mystery of what is,as yet, beyond the embraceof our imagination….
A Bowl of Incense and a Spoon: A Poem
A Bowl of Incense and a Spoon With the good knife rescuedfrom a thrift store pegboard,The soup pot thurible is readyto incense the kitchen chapel.halve the onion, slice from the root,cross cut into a small dice.I settle my senses into thiswelcome ritual of prayer and blessing.Garlic: three cloves or four, depending,mashed into a paste with…
On One of Fifty-Four Thanksgivings: a Poem
I had occasion recently to reflect on a list of 54 Thanksgivings that I had written as a way to honour my birthday. Items from the full spread of decades made the list…Things that were good from the get-go (Being taught common-sense and trusted to exercise it)…and things now seen in retrospect (Learning, growth, and strength…
From Within
From Within The woman, retired,speaking of grandchildrenwhile examining my arms,kept saying It’s peoplelike you who show up and givewho say to the world—Do you seewhat we have in common? What weneed from each other when ina bad way? What we needcomes from within. I kept thinking about that whenI could feel 36.9 degrees of crimson…
Christmas, 2023
At first I was imagining something new for this year…but then I thought about the liturgy and how we hear the stories of our faith told in cycles and spirals, circles and ever expanding circles. I keep returning to this poem on Christmas Day because it’s a message that isn’t getting old. It’s a message that moves…
Consider the Lilies 