When I was helping with the preparation for those interested in Catholicism, we used what we called a “journey stick” as a symbol for the group. The stick itself was actually the wood skeleton of a saguaro cactus. It was important because it symbolized the journey of each of us as we gathered together.…
The Soul Steward
You stand and wait behind our busy small history
Feigning restful and seemingly wistful stagnation;
You generously crop imagined frames of reference
As we ardently persist in our insistent positions!
From a distance we call you “rigid…craggy… majestic… unyielding”
Yet really you flow in tides we’ve barely waded;
Hidden mechanics of violent creativity,
Jutting and crunching drifts of epoch proportion.…
WADING TO BE HEALED
When I was a child, I was not so much scared of the water, but I was not a good swimmer. I can still remember my aunt trying to teach me to swim, and recall the story told (although I myself do not remember the incident) of when I was young, perhaps 5, while surf-fishing at Grand Isle, I almost drowned. …
The Love Blink
The Gaze looks out from itself; but not really…
We blink in the mirror and what do we see?
Is it me, you, them, us, we?
Broken images can make the best of friends
Passageways of participation cloud clarity
But winds of past loves can be worn as comfort at home
Another world is only a mistaken case of creation
That fails to feel its own self-groaning
We pass each other BY without knowing the way
We pass INTO each other without sight
Yet a star stifled will still shine its invisible rays
Marking the only real transmission of Truth!…
PRESENCE IN THE CROWD
Almost 20 years ago, realizing that he was dying, my brother asked me to help him choose a scripture that could be shared at his memorial. Inasmuch as it was a difficult request for him to make (and for me to hear), it was an even greater moment of grace and presence for me, and I am convinced for him as well.…