the clearing

let us go
and prepare a place
nestled in nature
an outpost of grace
a haven of rest
a sacred space:
a clearing

let’s abandon our storehouse
for a three-legged stool
and devote our life’s best
to better uses
we who have received much
who are we
to hoard this manna?

let’s build something that breathes
with acoustics
perfect for music,
laughter, stirring conversation,
and lifegiving silence
where a body can recompose
and a soul find comfort

let’s fashion a simple retreat
safe, sheltering, serene
impervious to worry
oblivious of time
near deep waters
always in view
and always inviting

let it be a place
to behold the endless heavens
far from city glares
where we’ll remember
just how many and how bright
are the stars of night
and take solace in our smallness

let it be a spring of peace
where all the senses
reboot, repair, recalibrate
where we relearn to celebrate
a thoughtful, loving Father
who commands rest
and encourages play

when tired from toil
ragged from running
exhausted by expectations
when the breathless cacophony
of life has emptied us
we will refill here
and bring others along, saying,

“let us go now, friends,
we’ve prepared a place
nestled in nature
an outpost of grace
a haven of rest
a sacred space:
The Clearing.”

February 2009

willpower

I get to decide
not what happens next
but how I respond
not the music
but whether to dance
not if tragedy strikes
but whether it will destroy me
not the words of others
but their power over me
not if love will last
but whether I will give my life for it
not the hour of my passing
but the joy with which I pass time

I did not choose
to enter life—
initially—
but it’s been mine to choose
every day since
and I am far
from finished

December 2008