Question

  (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

Am I a God nearby,
And not far off?
Why do you hide,
Remove yourself from me,
Run like a child
Into the forest
To keep from being found?
And if  I should confront you
Face to face,
Or if I catch you
In your tears or shame,
What then
Makes you turn away from me,
Cover your heart
As if I could not see it—
I , who made your heart,
I, who hear its dreams,
And I, who plant all love within it?
I am the One
Who, seeking, will always find you,
Who, absent, is always with you,
Who, silent, is always calling you,
Who, greater than the starlit universe,
Bends to offer you life.
Come to me.

--Timothy Haut, August, 2013

Summer Afternoon

Summer afternoon,

Stillness,

And then the ruffle of leaves,

A stirring in the grass,

Soft as breath.

Who comes here

On warm wings

To waken me?

So this, too, is holy:

The leaning sunflower

Breaking into bloom,

The tomato wanting to be red,

The sweet, wet earth

Seeded with life,

The bright-winged butterfly,

A fish rising to

The rippled rim of water,

The sigh of cicadas

Passing through this fleeting

Moment of time,

My heart half asleep

And dreaming

That in this troubled, tender world

All creation waits, longs

For me to see the goodness

In this one, precious

Summer afternoon.

 

--August 11, 2013