haiku

caught up in some fleeting joy
it bounded along
a very large white chicken

faith and the humanities

we talked of Christmas markets
and Charles Taylor’s German
classical music
and how to improve the university

over wine and cheese
we played out the tragedy
Christians in the academy
scorned in both Athens
and Jerusalem

we mourned the loss of language
talked strategy in childhood board games
laughed at our own pretensions
returning again and again
to faith and the life of the mind

fertility

the reminder
brown first
faint warning of blood
so many hues of red and eggplant
impossible that only half humanity knows
that mystery exists inside
tangible
alarming

I am capable of miracles

a Christmas prayer

God of our grace and light
God of our suffering and darkness
Remind us again
of your vulnerability
and compassion
Give us faith like a child
faith in the child
that opened our eyes to love
and broke down the divisions
of humanity
amen.

winter solstice

the whole world is dark
grey green chalkboard
empty of inspiration
cavernous room
black with the power out

the whole world is silent
underwater vista
eerie in its muffled quiet
abandoned house
where no ghosts whisper

the whole world waits
astronomers
marking every minute of eclipse
musicians
watching for the cue