autumn
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The Forest
Lost in the forest,alone, afraid, abandoned,I fall to my knees,bury my face in my hands,and weep. When my tears have ended,when I have exhausted my grief,I open my eyes and look around:trees have gathered,forming a protective circle,arms joining above, sheltering… Continue reading
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The Beginning
He saw her for the final time just after sunrise,when autumn's cool morningbetrayed the heat that would manifest by midday. She'd seemed uncharacteristically distracted–diverted from her typical high focus–as she lifted her broad-rimmed straw hatfrom the peg beside the kitchen… Continue reading
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Autumn Wind
Autumn wind,blow–strip the leaves from the trees,leaves crisp with deep color.Strip from our soulthe dry and brittle sorrows of the passing year. Autumn wind,blow–fallow the earth,prepare us for winter's cold and stilling layeringfor snow-shrouded stubble.Bring to our heartsthis welcome time… Continue reading
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Everywhere at Once
Somewhere in our late-November neighborhooda dusty hearth cradles the season's first fire.Someone stares into those flames,cloaked in forest fragrance,holy as high-church incense. I close my eyes, inhale,am everywhere at once. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights… Continue reading
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What Dolores Wrote
Somewhere in rural Nebraska,in her farmhouse kitchen,as was her custom,Dolores wrote on the square of chalkboardher axiom of the week: We don't need more of what we've got, we just need to be more grateful for it. Within two… Continue reading
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Sleep Calls Me
Sleep calls meon a quiet Saturday afternoonwhen the ironing and vacuuming are doneand it's not yet time to start dinner. She calls me from the bedroom,where she's already lured the catsinto one, black, circular mass of slow breathingand entwined limbs.… Continue reading
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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
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Core Word #8: Humility
Hello, humility. Did you know you're one of my favorite words? In case you're wondering, I didn't choose you as a core word because I believe I embody you. I don't, and I know that. I truly aspire to, but… Continue reading
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God’s Learning Curve
Bill Moyer's television series Genesis first introduced me to the possibility that the biblical narrative is not only a record of humanity's learning curve, but God's as well. Take the covenant concept: At first, God kept trying to establish agreements… Continue reading
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Autumn in the Garden of Eden
As winter approaches the Garden of Eden,autumn's cleansing handstrips bare the branchesof the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What, then, is left to know? Stare up through the black, beseeching limbsto the infinity of stars beyond. Text and… Continue reading