Blessings, 2019

Blessing
We live
In all our messy glory;
Trapped in time,
Suspended in place.

Waiting
For the next stage,
The next hope,
The answer that eludes us.

Hold out your hands.
Cup them together
To receive this grace:
You are already holy.


Another Blessing
Stand where you are,
Reach out your arms, 
Throw back your head,
Open your mouth.

Listen:
There is silence under.
Open your eyes:
Light bleeds into the dark.

Do not forget this moment.


The Third Blessing
There is no time solitary
Or gathered together
Where you are absent
Or alone.

Breathe,
Grasp,
Release,
Bow down.

Reach out,
Pull in,
Let go,
Rest.


Hashtag #spoileralert

Hashtag: #spoileralert
– After reading poems by Emily Dickinson, and Tweets on Twitter

My future hides before me;
The ending pre-ordained.
The losses will continue
But bright joys may remain.

My feet will grow more tender;
My knees and hips more lame.
I may remember much;
I may forget my name.

The ending could be sudden,
Or agonies, – and slow. 
But life that waits before me
Holds time and love and hope.

The Waiting Room

In Death’s waiting room, I watch
The receptionist checking files, and
I tell her it’s not me. I don’t
Have an appointment
Yet, I hope.

This one here beside me,
Who is looking away and
Doesn’t know it’s time,
Who doesn’t want to go
Into the next room.

It’s not me, I tell her,
Not me yet, I hope.