Count the Stars

Old Abram,
bent and tired,
woke with a dream
that stirred him
like a promise,
a flash of springtime
in his wintered flesh.
Shuffling to the door,
he stepped outside,
where his restlessness
would not awaken
his sleeping wife.
Suddenly
it was as if a father's hand
slipped under his chin,
lifted it so that he could see
a glory of stars,
scattered like joy
in the silent heavens.
"Yours!" a voice whispered.
"Yes," he answered,
feeling tomorrow
rising in his bones.

--Timothy Haut, Lent 2, 2013

Our Wilderness
 The First Sunday in Lent


Somewhere, sometime
each one of us
takes an unchosen path
through the wilderness.
Not the rocky, broken land,
nor the frigid night winds,
nor the terrible beasts,
nor the parching thirst
will frighten us most.
But it is the loneliness,
the utter fear that
we are forgotten
and that nothing makes sense--
this is the barrenness
where we finally cry out,
pray for love
to find us.
And then
He comes.

--Timothy Haut, February, 2013

Dust and Ashes

Out of the storm,
surrounded by snow,
we come,
feeling like strangers in an alien land.
... We are made of earth,
built with the same atoms and molecules
as the distant stars,
burning with the heat of life
even in this coldest season.
In us
is the breath of God,
a spirit singing, shining,
seeking the One who made us.
So we gather our dust and ashes
to make a journey
homeward, through the snow,
cherishing this wilderness
for all its beauty,
learning to love more fully, truly,
until this human part of us
returns to earth or stars,
and we rise, redeemed and free,
on our final Easter Day.

--Timothy Haut, February 13, 2013

Fat Tuesday Prayer

Ancient Brightness,
 still shining like morning
 on drifts of whitest snow,
 be light and joy in us.
 Stir our inner child
 to fling aside all weariness,
 to dance and laugh,
 to taste sweet wonder,
 to make our day a carnival
 of gratitude and grace.
 Tomorrow the lean days will come,
 and we will listen for a word
 in the empty places
 of the heart.
 But on this fat and bountiful day
 let us feast on
 your ancient brightness,
 still new, shining, good.
 And be glad.

Amen