Loss
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Good Dough
Like a good doughdestined to become fragrant, hot bread,dripping with melted butter and sweet honey,I, too, occasionally need to be punched down,deflated,returned to an earlier state,and left in a warm, quiet placeto rise again. Like a good dough,I, too, relish a… Continue reading
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Essential Self
You are not your history;your history is not you. You are not your family;your family is not you. You are not what you believe;your beliefs are not you. You are not your accomplishments;what you've done is not you. You are… Continue reading
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Advents
It's Advent,and there are more arrivalsthan that of sweet baby Jesus: the train of memory drops them off,one by one, as it circles the tree– pets and playmates, classmates and cousins, parents and neighbors, siblings and colleagues, … Continue reading
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Advent Grief, Revisited
(for Jeremy and Mason) How, at your end, are things? Christmas just a week awayand such sudden emptinessof home, of heart death leaves us vacant;I have felt it;negative space the shape of your beloved for a timeyou shall occupy that… Continue reading
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The Approach
Advent, and who is this approaching? What hidden self emerges from the woods, the crawl space, the garden labyrinth? What time-hidden, reclusive divine embodiment has Word to give, Word to enflesh, my Word, that… Continue reading
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Veils
Throughout lifeeach lossremoves another of the veilsthat obscure the Mysterywe desperately yearnto see and hold. Some veilsslip slowly from their rods,like so much sighing. Some veilsare torn awayby sudden and ferocious winds,like flashes of celestial anger. Loss hurts so very much.… Continue reading
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The Pier
I stand at the end of the pier,face to the dark and the wind.Waves roll toward me,each one another tomorrow–identical tomorrows,endless.I feel chilled;the wind, the waves, the lonelinessempty me. Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
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Because Things Do
Things fall apart then reassemble.Life unravels then weaves back together.The water overwhelms then recedes. This is always the pattern; we've lived it 1,000 times, survived it 1,000 times. Yet always between the disaster … Continue reading
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Invitation 4
Hi, all. My blogging service, Typepad, was under attack and rendered inoperable since last Thursday. Today, Tuesday, it's up and running again. What follows is what I had intended to post Friday through Sunday (Good Friday through Easter), pulled together… Continue reading
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Soon Enough
Death comes soon enough;Why invite it in early? Why be jealous? Why be angry? Why nurse the grudge, rehearse the hurt? Why resent? Why fear? Why welcome decay?Why hurry death? Soon enough. Soon enough. Text… Continue reading