Signs

A flash of silver catches my eye –
my cheek is on the carpet
as I flatten my shoulder, reaching beneath the side table,
taking hold of the lost pacifier –
I see the silver undercarriage
of a toy car lying on its roof, tires aloft.
I rescue it, too, then roll onto my side,
my back,
my belly,
and I find them –
silver flashes here and there,
beneath the tv stand,
under the chair,
behind the couch;
I saw them earlier next to the oven,
the refrigerator, the dishwasher;
they are everywhere on the ground, hidden,
signs that he lives here:
Mr. I-Am-Eighteen-Months-Old
-And-I-Love-Little-Cars.

I keep my eyes peeled
for other signs,
flashes of divinity,
bright sparks here or there –
but my search turns up nothing.
Instead, my ears take in the soft whispers,
“I’m sorry,” “I love you,” “That’s okay.”
They are all over the house,
in the bedrooms,
floating across the kitchen table,
sweeping up the stairs,
and through the hall,
signs that he lives here:
the God of Love,
the God of Forgive-
And-Your-Sins-Are Forgiven.

Stir my soul,

Stir my soul,
my God, let your spirit
cover me,
wake me,
for now I fall asleep dreaming of you
only to wake bleary, and forgetful.
Send your Spirit to rest
beneath me,
beside me,
like the small child who climbs,
crawls, creates his own space
and sits atop my hip, triumphant,
as I lie resting on my side at midday;
he nudges me with his whole body,
rocks me with his bouncing,
laughs to me when I open my eyes.
Stir my soul, Lord, like that –
boundless, persistent, desperate, joyful,
for I fall asleep dreaming of you
only to wake bleary and forgetful.

Advent Chain

Our advent chain is cut
from years-old construction paper,
faded green, pink, red.
The still-unlooped-strips lie flat
and slightly crumpled in the “stuff cupboard”
until I move them to the stairs
until I move them to the piano
where the tiny pile sits for weeks.

I did not toss those loose pieces
in the Christmas box in January;
now it is one day before June
and I realize Jesus is Forgiveness.

The colored, crooked bits of paper bear notes,
in tentative, and young, and solid hands, (and scribbles, too)
on how we are like Jesus;
this year I discover a theme,
and it’s not just “forgiveness,”
it’s quick-forgiveness.

There’s a special soul living here
whose capacity for this virtue is unparalleled.
Grace swirls around her,
invisible, surprising,
lilac and honeysuckle on the breeze.

Though the advent chains will
tear
and rip
and scatter,
quick forgiveness will
hold us together.