The 60-Second Sabbath

Solitude

  • Bird Song

    5:30 in the morning.Darkness still quiets the city.I open the sliding glass door,allow the in-flow of cold air… …and bird song:Somewhere nearby,on a tentatively budding branch,a robin asserts spring's certainty, then pauses. No more? Yes, more,now down the block,repeating the… Continue reading

  • Remembering and Discovering at the Same Time

    I am an admirer of the poet David Whyte. Even when David speaks about poetry, it is poetry. Listen to some of the ways he describes the art of the poem: remembering and discovering at the same time a conversation… Continue reading

  • Prayer for the Divine

    Does this day dawn bright for you,you to whom all days belong? I today will wish you joy,pray you sunlight, laughter, song,sweet companionship and love,everything for which you long. May this day dawn bright for you,you to whom all days… Continue reading

  • Somewhere Beyond

    Somewhere beyondthe limits of mind and belieflies the Ocean of Mysteries.Travel there,and when you arrive,lean over the railingand open the handthat holds the pearlof inestimable value.Watch it disappearinto the dark water. Are you this Ocean of Mysteries?Or are you the… Continue reading

  • I Sit

    Often, words are not the needed thing. Continue reading

  • Dawn’s First Fingers

    Dawn's first fingersreach around our neighbor's houseand stroke the graying slatsof our tool shed. A small gray catpussyfoots her wayup the naked, broken trellisto the cracked, tacked, faded gray shingles of the roof.She faces the sun,raises one paw,licks it twice,settles… Continue reading

  • Stopped Dead

    Stopped dead between headstones,dry leaves drifting over my shoes,I scan, rescan the engraved letters.This century-old epitaph could be mine. I feel like Scrooge sighting along the bony fingerof his future ghost. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All… Continue reading

  • My Face

    My face,empty at the table like a white china plate,waits for supper.From the kitchen,silence. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Summer in the Garden of Eden

    So hot.Naked is good when you sweat this much.He climbs the tree in search of a breeze.Ah, here it is.Sunlight through leaves patterns his brown skin. He sighs for companionship.Where is that snake?Of all the animals,the one with words. Much… Continue reading

  • Already Present

    God is already presentand always will be.My prayer won't change that.My praise won't change that. I open my eyes:    He is there.I open my cupboard:    She is there.I open my front door:    It is there.I open:    All is there. Text and image © 2011… Continue reading