By the River

February 6, 2019 I long for you. My eyes yearn to see your countenance. My flesh swells to feel the touch of your finger.  My soul sings to you. At night, when the sun has fallen, My lips sing psalms in your honor.  And yet, silence.  All of Nature testifies. The wind whispers of your awesome power. The mountains strive towards the heavens. The ocean speaks of your might. The valleys bemoan the distance they feel from you. Trees wither and die and are resurrected in your name And yet, silence.  I am restless with uncertainty. I am unable to cease my knees from trembling. My hands reach up towards you in worshipful prayer.  You are the silence of love’s absence. Why must my adoration be unrequited so? You are the hope of the hopeless, the strength of those who have no strength. And yet, for all the prayers thrown in sincerity up to your heavenly throne,  silence.

  September 3, 2019 Have I become so dull, that I cannot delight in the mystery? Have I become a vacuum, releasing neither light nor love? Have I become so deaf as to no longer weep from the flute or lyre?  The earth can be reduced to atoms and quarks, but can the suffering soul? Can one who only sees revolving gears, speak of time and eternity? If love is only a biological device, why should one die for it? If nature does not share its song, of what value are the swaying trees? If I am not humbled by the stars, have I not gone mad? In my search for understanding have not the words drowned the meaning of their union? If the horizon beyond beckons me not, of what use is my exploration?  If I cannot hear the question, have not my thoughts become stale? Indeed it has been said, “an answer is always a form of death.”

October 21, 2020 O Autumn Leaf,  Clinging to your familiar branch The one you love,  Bound together in mutual nourishment Through the seasons.  Youthful vibrance,  Your smooth green cloak conforming neatly  Replaced by a cornucopia Of reds, yellows, and oranges. Astonishing scars of enduring  Through the seasons.  Gone are the days Of your hopeful curious budding. The end is nigh,  You can feel the cool Northern whispers as they Announce the season. Yet gently you flutter,  Basking in the morning light from an increasingly Cloudy sky above you.  There is serenity in your countenance as if you hold The secret of the seasons. Slowly you let go.  Swaying softly, carried by the wind to the hardening dirt. To lie among leaves already fallen. Kissed by the shadow of the tree that held you, dearly, Through the seasons. O Autumn Leaf,  Majestic colors faded, the snow is gathering in the clouds. You gaze once more at the sky. Time’s war...