Like Scrooge's trinity of ghosts,
the Beloved takes my hand
and flies me skyward
among dark Winter's stars,
beyond my sapped vision,
beyond this succession of pea-sized moments,
beyond my desk of dust and yellowing paper,
    endless analysis and digitized disorder…
and for one brief moment
reveals to me
the vast, calm, patient universe
within which rests
my small soul's significance.

Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.