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