WALK IN THE PARK

Life is like a walk in the park
Children running
Couples strolling
Nearby, birds hiding out in the bushes singing,
And, somewhere, far off, a train faintly sounds.

Life comes into brilliant focus while we’re still young
But then, over our lifetime, can fade.

There’s a satisfied calmness in that fade, however –
Not much to get upset about –
Life glimmering just a few steps away –
The magic still there – just out on the edges.

The rain is damp and chill –
No fires tonight!

There are fewer birds left in the forest –
So there’s less sound, less activity,
In the distance a child appears who barely sees us –
A group of old men no longer standing at the center.

The quiet ones –
Taking one last look
Before exiting.

TOUCHING A DREAM WOUND

God is a spiritual relative about whom we’ve only distantly heard
But never actually met.

We do know that, one day, we’ll have an encounter
But it’ll be a surprise:

One example might be in a dream:

We’re deboarding a train
And notice someone in the passing crowd who looks familiar –
The resemblance to our first love so remarkable
That we can never forget it.

Meeting God “face to face” would have to be something like this –
An individual resurrection experience –
Similar to when the disciples didn’t know who they were talking to –
And only figured it out later.

Yes, sometimes our first encounter with God is in an oblique way –
We meet, and then instantly forget it’s happened –
The proof not in a wound we’re able to plunge a hand into –
But the reverse –
When we sense a gentle hand entering our own body –
Delicately touching our heart –
And spilling “life” out of us –
Everywhere.

Yes, sometimes, God can enter us through a dream –
If we’re interested enough
To remember when it happens.