Wrens and sparrows

Wrens and sparrows                                                                       

I write my poetry on a crust of bread

I found in the bottom of my pouch,

dropping crumbs along the path

for the wrens and sparrows.

I won’t be coming back

this way and no one will follow

into this particular plot of trees.

The woods are deep.  I’ll write

as long as the light holds out.

God illumines the path

only one step at a time

and my own torch has been thrown down.

It’s like a crust of bread –

the moon above the horizon.

My mortal existence is a crust of bread.

This poem is dedicated

to the wrens and sparrows.

I wish I had more to give.

O child of God, venture where there is blitheness    

in dissolution; unalloyed bliss in obliteration.

(from Spoken For - drawing by Rich Panico)

The heart's sovereignty

The heart’s sovereignty                                                               

Mary of Bethany broke the alabaster box

and with spikenard anointed Jesus,

some of His disciples grumbling at the expense

but, Jesus said, She hath wrought a good work.

O child, an imperfection of character

is the desire to be perfect

and a detriment to the path of surrender. 

To covet virtue is a sin – for covetousness is a sin.

Desire, instead, to be obedient and humble.

Non-attachment is the back road to perfection.

Desire for perfection leads through a labyrinth

of pride, shame and self-involvement

while acceptance of imperfection

constitutes a stirring turn toward surrender.

O lover, spill innocently, like Mary,

the precious oil; anoint the head of Jesus

and be marked forever as a lover

and loyal subject of the heart’s holy sovereignty.