Poetry

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: ‘Poetry‘ as in… the few moments you set aside to read this poem today might be the moments you love most.

I was introduced to poetry early in my life. I read a lot of things by a guy named Ted who decided to do what he loved most. It worked out well for him. Not content with just creating political cartoons, illustrating, animating, and filmmaking, he decided to write children’s books. You might have read some. The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish are just a few.

Along the way, I became fascinated by the way certain words worked well together, how other words rhymed or not, and, of course, the utter brilliance of Haiku. So I took a poetry class as an undergraduate student at Pacific Lutheran University. It was the only course I ever aced.

Nancy Lee and I have long dwelled in the poetry of Mary Oliver. We always read her poems at least twice. The practice of Lectio Divina has taught us that there’s always something more to be discovered with each reading.

Not long ago, we were introduced to the writing and poetry of Margaret Dulaney. In her collection, “To Hear the Forest Sing: Some Musings on the Divine,” Dulaney offers meditative essays on divine themes in everyday life. How lovely is that?

Honestly, you may want to read this lovely poem several times.

Love What There Is To Love

Perhaps all that this day really requires of us
is to step out
from under the cover of our resistance,
step out and
into the warmth of our lives.

To say, today I will do this because I love it.

I will write what I love,
sing what I love,
listen to what I love,
read what I love,
practice what I love,
speak what I love.

I will love what there is to love today,
and leave the details to a wiser hand.  

I believe I’m right about this: The few moments you set aside to read a poem today might be the moments you love most.

#100days50words

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where he blogs about a different word each day. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche) or his blog,  Thriv’ëon Rhythms.