Words to Move the Spirit

There is in every person an inward
sea, and in that sea there is an island
and on that island there is an altar and
standing guard before that altar is the
“angel with the flaming sword.”
Nothing can get by that angel
to be  [ … ]

The Blessed Half-light of December

I paused to watch the yellow light spread caution across my living room. This gentle warning that darkness would soon arrive transformed a few brief moments into a timeless comforting event. The unexpected arrival of an old friend could not have changed my mood more quickly. With certainty the half light  [ … ]

I place these gifts on my altar this Christmas;

Gifts that are mine, as the years are mine:

The quiet hopes that flood the earnest cargo of my dreams:

The best of all good things for those I love,

A fresh new trust for all whose faith is dim.

The love of life, God’s precious gift  [ … ]

Late October
Maya Angelou

Carefully
the leaves of autumn
sprinkle down the tinny
sound of little dyings
and skies sated
of ruddy sunsets
of roseate dawns
roil ceaselessly in
cobweb greys and turn
to black
for comfort.

Only lovers
see the fall
a signal end  [ … ]