Kathleen O’Toole: On Grief, in a time of pandemic
What I’m learning about grief is that
it comes and goes, like the shadow in front of me
on the afternoon sidewalk.
Rick Campbell: The God Particle
This god particle, if found, might provide light
and warmth, or another weapon capable
of ending time as we know it and sending us
into the dark where even a God can’t save us.
Michael Simms: Dust
The distinct nothingness of my life
suddenly seems glorious,
a particle of dust dancing in the light
beside eight billion others
Deborah Bogen: Bashō
Sweet friend, hear me. There will always be trouble.
W.S. Merwin: To the New Year
our hopes such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible
Judith Sanders: First Lesson
…assess this particular pebble’s
cool weight in your palm,
the diameter of its smoothness,
the course it traveled over the seabed
Majid Naficy: Seven Sacred Songs
There is a footstep
And the light of a lantern.
I hide myself beneath an old blanket
And become filled with the aroma of wheat.
Charles Davidson: Bannocks (Loaves) of Bread
Fifty-five years ago, I spent a memorable week on the tiny island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland, the site to which St. Columba came from Ireland in A.D. 563, to inaugurate the Christian mission to northern Britain.
Jena Schwartz: Day 209
God pulls into a run-down motel and pays in cash. God wears a mask and walks slowly down the hallway and the one light bulb is flickering as he turns the key in the door.