Was that You?

Was that you,

that gentle wind in the trees that sway,

the wind that cools the shadows

on a steamy summer day?

Was that your breath, a soothing message from you

that moves the grains of wheat.

The devil has breath too,

and when it comes it breaks

the tall trees in two,

it rips and rages, destroying the old,

makes nothing new.

Father, thank you for your breath

that relieves us from the summer heat.

From A Year of Prayers by Jack Bartlett

The Prodigal Clippings

Can angels experience regret?

I’m thinking specifically of the

fallen ones, the ones herded up

and driven over the edge of the

clouds because of their mutiny?

Do you think one or two or three

of them might’ve enjoyed it for

a season, because c’mon it is fun

for a while, but then missed the

comfort of foursquare and pearl?

I bet they were welcomed home

with feasting and singing but I

believe there was also a price of

return: the prodigal clippings.

But, you say, what about grace?

Well, I say, ask them, they know,

for they are the angels of mercy.

John Blase

Putting it All Together

Many in our culture

regard youth as good

and old age as bad.

But is this true?

In the sage, youth and age are married.

Wisdom and folly each been lived fully.

Innocence and experience now support one another.

Action and rest follow each other easily.

Life and death have become inseparable.

The sage has experienced all opposites

and lets them come and go

without clinging or fretting.

Therefore the sage can talk without lecturing,

act without worrying about results,

and live in contentment with all events.

The first part of our life

was spent separating things into categories:

good and bad,

like and dislike,

me and you,

us and them.

Now it is time to put all the pieces back together

into a seamless whole. 

The Sage's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life 

by William Martin

Hurry

We stop at the dry cleaners and the grocery store

and the gas station and the green market and

Hurry up honey, I say, hurry, hurry,

as she runs along two or three steps behind me

her blue jacket unzipped and her socks rolled down.

Where do I want her to hurry to? To her grave?

To mine? Where one day she might stand all grown?

Today, when all the errands are finally done, I say to her,

"Honey I’m sorry I keep saying Hurry—

you walk ahead of me. You be the mother."

"Hurry up," she says, over her shoulder, looking

back at me, laughing. "Hurry up now darling," she says,

"hurry, hurry," taking the house keys from my hands.

**Marie Howe

Lessons in the Afterlife

Luke 13:24 / Luke 14:1-14 

Lord,

after we get through

the narrow door,

save us from

the temptation

of charging forward

in Your banquet hall.

Let us remember

that rushing 

doesn't work 

in a place

where the last

are served first.

Selection from Sirach 3

Humility

My child, 

be humble 

in everything you do, 

and 

people will appreciate it 

more than gifts. 

The greater you become, 

the more humble 

you should be; 

then the Lord 

will be pleased 

with you. 

The Lord's power is great, 

and he is honored 

by those who are humble. 

Don't try to understand things

that are too hard for you, 

or investigate matters 

that are beyond your power to know. 

Concentrate on the Law, 

which has been given to you. 

You do not need to know 

about things 

which the Lord has not revealed, 

so don't concern yourself with them. 

After all, 

what has been shown to you 

is beyond human power to understand. 

Many people have been misled 

by their own opinions; 

their wrong ideas have warped their judgment.

The More Loving One

by W. H. Auden

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well 

That, for all they care, I can go to hell,

But on earth indifference is the least 

We have to dread from man or beast. 

How should we like it were stars to burn 

With a passion for us we could not return? 

If equal affection cannot be, 

Let the more loving one be me. 

Admirer as I think I am 

Of stars that do not give a damn, 

I cannot, now I see them, say 

I missed one terribly all day. 

Were all stars to disappear or die, 

I should learn to look at an empty sky 

And feel its total dark sublime, 

Though this might take me a little time.