.ANNUNCIATION by Denise Levertov
Hail, space for the uncontained God’
From the Agathistos Hymn, Greece,
We know the scene: the room, variously furnished,
almost always a lectern, a book; always
the tall lily.
Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings,
the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering,
whom she acknowledges, a guest.But we are told of meek obedience.
No one mentions
courage.
The engendering Spirit
did not enter her without consent.
God waited.She was free
to accept or to refuse, choice
integral to humanness.
Aren’t there annunciations
of one sort or another
in most lives?
Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.
More often
those moments
when roads of light and storm
open from darkness in a man or woman,
are turned away from
in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair
and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
God does not smite them.
But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.
She had been a child who played, ate, slept
like any other child – but unlike others,
wept only for pity, laughed
in joy not triumph.
Compassion and intelligence fused in her, indivisible.
Called to a destiny more momentous
than any in all of Time,
she did not quail,
only asked
a simple, ‘How can this be?’
and gravely, courteously,
took to heart the angel’s reply,
perceiving instantly
the astounding ministry she was offered: to bear in her womb
Infinite weight and lightness; to carry
in hidden, finite inwardness,
nine months of Eternity; to contain
in slender vase of being,
the sum of power –
in narrow flesh,
the sum of light.
Then bring to birth,
push out into air, a Man-child
needing, like any other,
milk and love –but who was God.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I'm back. I missed everyone!!! 🌻 My Ipad & computer died a few weeks ago & my kindle is slowly biting the dust, too. I ordered new ones, but they're backordered. 😕 I love you all! xo
My breast biopsy was negative, thankfully, but both of my arms (biceps/deltoids) were severely strained from being overstretched during surgery. I'd been going to physical therapy twice a week for months now which drains me and is horrifyingly hard/painful. My hip pain was mostly resolved, but both of my arms are in severe pain. 😂 I laugh because I'm jinxed when it comes to pain...it's been never-ending and always severe. No medication for it, either. I can't even take Advil because it kills my stomach. I'm mortally depressed most days and struggle to even get up and dressed. But, as He promised, God holds me up and covers me with his wings (Psalm 91) and I am comforted, comforted and safe. 🙏 🎈📚 God bless you all.
That's my story today.
“Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless.” – Charles M. Crowe 🌸🧚🏽♀️🌺
WHEN I DIE by Rumi
When I die
when my coffin
is being taken out
you must never think
i am missing this world
don’t shed any tears
don’t lament or
feel sorry
i’m not falling
into a monster’s abyss
when you see
my corpse is being carried
don’t cry for my leaving
i’m not leaving
i’m arriving at eternal Love
when you leave me
in the grave
don’t say goodbye
remember a grave is
only a curtain
for the paradise behind
you’ll only see me
descending into a grave
now watch me rise
how can there be an end
when the sun sets or
the moon goes down
it looks like the end
it seems like a sunset
but in reality it is a dawn
when the grave locks you up
that is when your soul is freed
have you ever seen
a seed fallen to earth
not rise with a new life
why should you doubt the rise
of a seed named human
have you ever seen
a bucket lowered into a well
coming back empty
why lament for a soul
when it can come back
like Joseph from the well
when for the last time
you close your mouth
your words and soul
will belong to the world of
no place no time
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything”. ~PLATO
The music of my youth, back when freedom & free speech reigned. Good times & great memories. Youth is, indeed, wasted on the young. Weekend mood:
