rabbit sits under
the small, white pine tree’s branches
watching for the dog

As a child he heard these things;
as a teen he began to read these things;
as an adult he studied these things;
and now it is hard
to concentrate on these things
when he reads these things
because of the repetition of these things,
but the sad thing is that he runs the
risk of missing the new revelations in
the interpretations of these things
and he might just remain stuck in an old
way of understanding these things.
Simply, his mind wanders away
from these things
in his daily reading of these things,
so… much of the time, he stops in
the middle of reading these things
and rereads these things
to catch a new understanding and
interpretation…of these things.

In spite of the lingering cold
which resists the advent of
spring’s warmth, things go on.
The Chocolate Lab continues
to get up, look out the sliding
door for the two large rabbits
who sometimes just sit by the
pond staring at the dog as if
they know the glass is holding
back the dog from the chase.
It is as if they are taunting her.
When the door is opened, the
girl tugs hard at the leash look-
ing for the rabbits now gone but
in the other direction, she sees
a baby bunny scamper back
under the wood walkway. A
robin with a piece of string in
its beak flits from branch to
branch looking for a sturdy
enough one upon which to
build the nest. The mate
supervises.

On the four bucket water-
wheel of eternity, Infinity
pours upon Immanence and
Immanence pours upon In-
timacy and Intimacy pours
upon creation and creation
pours upon Infinity and….

*image and idea from a
meditation by Richard Rohr

I learned today
I share a birthday
with Saint John Eudes.
I never knew ‘dis
nor had I ever heard of
Saint John Eudes.
I saw a photo today
of Saint John Eudes.
He may have been a saint
but certainly not the cutest.
He may have been a nudist.
From such a sight may the saints preserve us.
He founded the Order of Our Lady of Charity
which she certainly must be.
If she ever saw him in his birthday suit,
she wouldn’t have told you or me.
Although, I think some heard her scream
as she did flee
from Saint John Eudes
with whom I share a birthday
and, I repeat, I never knew ‘dis.

.

I greeted the Chocolate Lab,
I greeted the azaleas and forsythia,
I greeted the dune grass,
I greeted the Norway Spruces, the red and white pines, 
     the hemlocks,
I greeted the fish in the pond,
I greeted the birds in the pines,
I greeted the clouds in the sky,
I greeted the sun beginning to peek through the clouds,
I greeted the wind in the swaying branches,
I greeted the sound of the surf,
I greeted silently the cyclists and joggers passing by my window,
I greeted silently the drivers of cars passing by my window
     (I asked them to slow down),
I greeted silently the garbage man as he stopped to pick up our 
     garbage and recyclables, 
I greeted my wife who gave me a kiss good morning, 
I greeted the Trinity spinning through my head and heart
     and through everything I see and hear,
I cannot be lonely.

*idea from a meditation by Richard Rohr

The Spirit went for a walk
through my life backward
not stopping to talk
but ever forwards only backwards.
Sophia stopped at all
the locked doors
up and down the hall
sometimes on all fours
to get a view through the peep hole
of the locked doors.
She would call to that within
in tender tones
and the locked door would open
and she would see the bones.
Giving the bones a hug,
the bones grew a heart
at which there was a tug.
Bones grew together and did depart.
Sophia went from door to door
until there were rattling bones no more.
I felt a tug at my own heart
and heard Sophia say,
“Well, kid, the house is clean
and you’ve been given a fresh start.”

We don’t choose family. As hard
as it is for me to say it, Donald
and I are brothers with Jesus
even as we brothers are sons

of God. We are related by the
relational will of God. Often, I
did not wish to be related to
my family, but we don’t

choose family. What binds
us together? Relational love
like — Father, Son, Holy Spirit,
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer —

a glorious trinity of love —
often like enduring marriage
when the little idiosyncrasies
are about to drive you nuts,

but you endure and come out
the other side more loving than
before — like looking at what
the loving other has to endure

from you — like having that
person’s best interest at heart —
like how sometimes it must be
hard for Creator and Sustainer

to hear the wondrous wisdom of
Sophia and then realize how right
she is. And so, back to Donald,
I want more than anything for

him to be out of office for the
sake and safety of the rest of
the family and, as with any tough
love, in the big house instead

of the White House for him to
pay his dues for his behavior
and to come to terms with his
prodigal son life realizing

all the while, there go I but
for the grace of God. And,
hard as it is to say, we
just don’t choose family.

Is everything about the occupant of the White House wrong,
including his eating habits?  We know he loves Big Mac’s, fries

and diet Cokes. He likes his steaks well-done. And now we
find out for breakfast he likes medium bacon and well-done

eggs. Seriously? Maybe a Big Mac and fries once a year
just for the heck of it or for spite, if you just had a serious

disagreement with your primary physician about your
diet but never, ever a well-done steak if you are a

carnivore with any respect at all for the cow. Steaks start
at medium-rare and go rare from there. And breakfast?

It’s crispy bacon and eggs over easy not over hard eggs
and wet bacon. Right about now I’m lusting after al dente 

veggies and a great salad sprinkled with olive oil and
lemon juice to clean my palate not to mention my thoughts.

he set foot on the gigantic
plinths being used as an
art exhibit (permanent
he assumed)  boulders
progressed across
huge slabs of concrete
first one just touching
next then leaning against
next then just on top
next then lying flat on top
as if home
as if resting
as if sighing
as if embracing
he thought of family
he thought of teachers
he thought of so many
he ran out of time thinking
the guard
told him to jump down
and observe the plinths
from behind the ropes