Rest O Earth, lie heavily upon her eyes; Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching, Earth; Lie close around her; leave no room for mirth With its harsh laughter, nor for sound of sighs. She hath no questions, she hath no replies, Hush’d in and curtain’d with a blessèd dearth Of all that irk’d her […]
University Fees The learned men came to see What could be done about that tree Stout and strong and big and tall, Faith inside that garden’s wall. Machines and steel their only hope Sturdy chains and heavy rope, Wrap around that solid tree And yanked it for a student’s fee… One lone seed is lost […]
The Master Immortality achieved Age indefinitely deferred The new immortal sits Scrutinizing games On the full moon as a screen Synchronous in orbit Until as ages pass He slumps and snores alone While robot servants dust Whispering in limpid tones So as not to wake the master With their sub-atomic chatter Pavel July 25, 2011
The Hound of Heaven I fled Him down the nights and down the days I fled Him down the arches of the years I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears I hid from him, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes I sped and shot […]
The Weaver Inspired by Mk 6:34-44 The other boys laughed when he walked kinda slow. They stole his sandals and tore at his clothes. They made him the butt of all of their pranks, Yet he prayed for them, each night giving thanks. He spent most of his time, alone by the sea- The lonely […]
Christ’s Childhood Till twelve years’ age, how Christ His childhood spent All earthly pens unworthy were to write; Such acts to mortal eyes He did present, Whose worth not men but angels must recite: No nature’s blots, no childish faults defiled, Where grace was guide, and God did play the child. In springing locks lay […]
An Ocean without Sails Say the nomads, who should know Make no plans today, sometimes No one knows the way to go And in the guts there are no signs A long and distant line of sight No more than steppe as flat as pain, Cloud by day or flame by night Will not appear, […]
Quenching Thirst (Inspired by John 4:4-42) Absentmindedly She replaces the ladle. Weathered hands rebraid thick plaits More out of habit this time, than necessity. Eyes closed, she still sees his face And hears his rich, gentle voice. She chokes back a sob, Remembering he did not judge Or scold or chide her. He gave her […]
A Pearl in God’s Eyes My Purity and Chastity is a pearl in God’s eyes, Given me by my father and mother, It is a wonderful prize. I think and pray and wonder Of this beauty which is mine. A feeble step, a feeble fall, The little baby dropped his treasure. He is crying, and […]
That Thieving Spirit! Mark my words- the Holy Spirit is a sly one! When I began my search for it, quick as lightening it found me- And then it stole from me! My eyes, (Seeing shadows mostly, and hurting in light) Were fine by me- Those eyes were well trained In the art of despair […]
Aloof The irresponsive silence of the land, The irresponsive sounding of the sea, Speak both one message of one sense to me:– Aloof, aloof, we stand aloof, so stand Thou too aloof, bound with the flawless band Of inner solitude; we bind not thee; But who from thy self-chain shall set thee free? What heart […]
Sleep Well Yes, he shot himself in the chest At the age of 37 Success, to peer inside the world Above which hangs the yellow sun by day The other, smaller stars at night Great flowers plant their shadows She saw him at her father’s shop Thought him rude and ugly That red-haired Dutchman, that […]
Sunflower How can you be standing after a storm when others have been trampled, wounded and torn But there you are so bold and bright Still reaching for the sun Sunflower beautiful and bold loyal and trusting a treasure untold So much power is there in your heart Facing the rain without falling apart You’ve […]
Clouds in Heaven I was just a young thing Couldn’t been more than three When I asked Grandma questions As I perched upon her knee. Are there clouds in heaven? Do angels play in the rain? Do they splash in puddles Playing angel games? “You’ve got imagination!” She said as she squeezed me tight. “Yes, […]
Pied Beauty Glory be to God for dappled things— For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings; Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough; And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, […]
In Company with Angels Hope in a small bee The immortal leaves of the holly The abdomen, gold and black Tapered and oval Shine in the April sun And the deep green unchanging leaves Stiffened, smooth Unfold and spread to the stream of light Everywhere around and in Death and immortality Dread in us and […]
The Master’s Hands Tiny fingers reached out to them, The baby cooing when they smiled. The three of them soon joined By shepherds drawn to this Child. Eager young hands created things Guided by His carpenter father. Reverent hands folded in prayers Led by his Blessed Mother. A wave, an inviting gesture Was all the […]
The Three Oddest Words When I pronounce the word Future, the first syllable already belongs to the past. When I pronounce the word Silence, I destroy it. When I pronounce the word Nothing, I make something no non-being can hold. Wislawa Szymborska
Transfiguration They came upon You And really saw you for once! Your full radiance unmasked Like a late afternoon sun Glaring through a windshield. Your light dazzled and confounded them The apostles fell to the ground You filled the deep craters of their hearts Saturating their emptiness There on that mountain In the full face […]
April Weather The dogwood spreads an April skirt White as would be dyed by fullers, Transfiguration was the word Attended then by Simon Peter But Good Friday was not lucky Heaven’s voice that day was stilled, The belly of Gethsemane The dark of night the Father willed In brightness death, in death a brightness Difficult […]
Remorse Inspired by Mt 26:14-16, Mt 27:3-5 The words of betrayal Were scarcely spoken. The look on their faces Like a knife in the heart. No turning back. Words, Like silver coins Clanging together. Cold. Hard.. Later Alone Head hanging In shame, Judas wept. Brenda Kay Farber
Adoration to spend time in your calming presence and feel the abiding love that wraps around me and rocks me to that quiet place of contentment where everything is as it was meant… to be at peace. Maria Morera Johnson
The Consecration of the Eucharist When the priest says, “This is my body. This is my blood.” My eyes see nothing more than bread. Jesus is not whom I hear, but the priest. And when my tongue is fed, with God, My taste is filled with grain without yeast. I smell nothing more than that […]
Another Still On the hillside, tall and green, From a heart no longer clean I rotted softly toward the stream Softly rotted as I bent, Measuring my slow descent, Many seasons came and went Sheltered from the north and west Hungry beetles were my guests Who ate the heartwood from my chest Till my fibers […]
