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Blessings,
Bill
Letting Go
the sword promised Mary
is not hers alone but
belongs to every
mother to whom is
born a child of destiny
which is to say
all of them
having carried as part
of her body
of her very self
the tearing of birth
signals the beginning
of joyful travail which
is the only way to release
and endure - joy being
capacity for what is
only occasionally happy
and so the release
necessary to life begins
small and large losings
on the way to idealized launching
only to realize…
the connection sustains
the losing persists and
deepens and spreads
such is the destiny of
a child born turning
outward to a world
needing their unique
selves to share in its saving
and such is the promise of
a sword dividing a Son dying
a mother weeping but…
who would not finally
have it any other way.
He was not the only one
who needed joy to
endure the cross to
endure the losses to
learn the multiplication
of such division.
Saturday Lament - The Wait of Love
There is light that breaks through the
cracks created when the
weight of love the
wait of love
holds its place
in pain
when the last tear
is cried in the brokenness
of loss become unbearable but
which is still borne the
wait of love
holds its place
when light fades so
completely that night
seems all there ever was
and all the terrors triumph the
wait of love
holds its place
when the last shovel full
of the dirt of burial thuds
into the hole of remains
hope dead and buried the
wait of love
holds its place
when the cracks created by
the weight of love
begin to glow with the
promise of unimagined new the
wait of love
holds its place
love never fails
Lenten Lament #74
a lonely place
browned over in last year’s harvest
whitened in the covering snows
of forced resting
life hidden so deep
the surface like death
brittle cold fragile
in the dark
wondering if life
is possible again
death seems so…
forever.
and then the
smallest sign of swell in the buds
the hint of fresh in the air
a flash of robin red against the dull
a hairline fracture in the mud
suggesting something
pushing toward light
from darkened life
long nights give way
to equal light
make way for this
liminal moment of
greening signaling
life triumphs
again.
for those who wait
for those who watch
for those who remember
days of faithfulness
in nights of despair.
Lenten Lament - #130
My cry echoes
bouncing back in my face
from the depths
mercy
Deeply aware
no reason for
response no
rationale for
even hearing
except…
Remembering all
that disqualifies
that argues
against but
is silenced
by forgiveness
And so…
i wait
watching in
deep echoing darkness
for the hint of hope
brightening the night
the darkness
sparking
with remembered
faithfulness with
hoped for
forgiveness
i wait
watching
intent on love
gleaming in the
thin space
depths
met with
mercy
more than a
watchman i
wait for the
morning in
mourning
who can stand?
deep dark
wondering
can unfailing
love…
fail?
Lenten Lament - #13
How long?
The question lingers
echoing back from
piled up disappointments
discarded dreams
the rubble of might have been
How long?
That it is asked
suggests
hope is not
dead
not quite
dead
How long?
Still a spark
remembered
relationship
a familiar face
wet with
shared tears
How long?
a statement
of stillness
of waiting
of longing
beyond the
moment
How long?
trust emerges
from under the longing
and leads the praise
joy in a minor key
Your lovingkindness
experienced in
the moment
or not…
the only sufficient
answer.
Lenten Lament - #55 w. #22
You
familiar friend
Is it I
You
close companion
Is it I
You
sharing the cup
Is it I
You
sharing the bread
Is it I
You
feet still damp
Is it I
You
Surely… not
sifted like wheat
You
Even if they…
i have prayed
You
Never would I
that faith not fail
You
failed familiar friend
return and
strengthen…
