Reflection on the Death of a Saint

As the Great Wave Of Loss bears down,

     sight surprises expectation:

Can even death be all woven through

     with light?

Christ's wake shimmering

     on the sea of sadness;

Morning Star's glory glinting

     on breaker's black crest

As His victory swallows

     the final foe.

At the turning of the gilded page,

     God makes all things new.

Easter in the Northwoods

 
Reflections on a personal spiritual retreat, weekend of Resurrection Day 2012, Boundary Waters, Northern Minnesota

Up the joyous coastline,
     fresh and free all feels,
To the place Adventurous Christians

     may go.
Gloriously

     rugged,
Rightfully

     untamed,
Present with the mystery -
     Easter in the Northwoods.

The sound of my soul
     rises,
     resonating
     with this
     wild freedom.
A million arboreal cathedral spires
     point my heart to You,
Here,
     with Nouwen my companion in solitude,
Sitting on the riverbank,
     edge of holy waters -
Boundary
     between now and eternity.

Strangers welcome me

     in the Name,
Saints draw me
     in to havens of hewn trees,

     Dwelling borne by crossbeams,
Feed me
     what's Real.
Woodstove warms my spirit,
     the rustic restores me.

Your breath in the body -
I've come alive again.