Poem: December 3, 2019

Advent

Wait.

Wait quietly and listen.

Set your eyes for a long time
onto the ghostly blue center
of the flame, the heart of it
beneath the dancing edges.

Breathe in.

Breathe in deeply.

Breathe the scent,
the warm heat,
the cedar and mistletoe
and rosemary.

Advent asks that we be
present,
patient,

that we step outside our noisy lives
and love what is
and what will come
and pass.

That we prepare
an empty place
for hope to arrive
and take root.

Advent invites us
to open the gifts
we already possess,
to open our eyes
and orient ourselves
to light, dim on the horizon,
there, certainly, there.

That we take our long
and hopeful journey
slowly, quietly,
with reverence,

counting every grain
of sand along the way.