Tag Archives: Listening

Let the birds sing

24 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by in grief, Reflections

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Let the birds sing
in early morning light

Let breezes sweetly whisper
through the trees at midday

Let clouds drift lazily
across a buoyant spring sky

Let the sun’s brilliance
gild rugged hillsides nearby

And let it all remind me
that this day is holy

Let friends call
and listen tenderly to my pain

Let strangers offer
a kind word or gesture

Let hours pass
and leave no trace of regret

Let this day unfold
with a gentleness born of grace

And let it all remind me
that this day is holy

There is no denying
this world looks different to me now
my future blurred by uncertainty
love’s healing work barely begun
and the cruel finality of death
no longer merely an idea

But let the birds sing in the morning
let friends be present by my side
let moments of contentment quietly come
let memories wash over me like a balm
let joy one day follow these days of mourning
let healing imperceptibly take root and grow

And let it all remind me
if I have the courage to see it
that this day indeed is holy

~ Mark Lloyd Richardson

Let us not grow weary

10 Thursday Nov 2016

Posted by in Justice, Peace with justice, Prayers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

flame

When our days feel precarious,
and our hearts are worn down
with the fatigue of worry,
the unsettledness of concern,
your promise, O God, remains with us.
Indeed it resides within us,
burning at the center of our beings,
a flame of hope that will not be extinguished.

You are always leading us into the new.
You are continually remaking us
into a people formed in your love.
You invite us each morning to yield our hearts
to the work of justice, peace, and reconciliation.
In all times, you call forth our better angels.

Give us, we pray, the grace we need for this day
as we rise to meet the challenges before us.
May we live today from our deepest humanity,
granting to a neighbor the gift of humble listening,
extending to a stranger a smile of recognition,
offering to the other a gesture of welcome,
being gentle with ourselves and those near to us.

The little things are the big things in your realm.
The least are not forgotten,
the last become first,
the lost are surely found.
So help us believe that even the mustard seed
of our small faith makes a difference.
Let us not grow weary in doing good.
Let us rise to meet this day knowing
that your promise remains with us and within us,
indeed it burns with a hope that will not go out.

In your holy love we pray. Amen.

(c) 2016 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Lessons in the Wind

02 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Poems

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

From time to time I go on spiritual retreat to the New Camaldoli Hermitage (www.contemplation.com) in Big Sur, perched high above the Pacific Ocean.

It is an ideal setting to immerse oneself in nature’s beauty and in the silence of a contemplative community.

On a retreat there a couple of years ago, I wrote the following poem while watching and listening to the birds from my private garden space.

Blue JayLessons in the Wind

I listen
as the winds sing above treetops
and carry Jays
with their deep blue wings
up and further up
to this resting place between ocean and sky.

Listening to branches stirring and clashing
beyond my screen door
whipped about in sudden gusts
I am stunned
by the necessary calm of this room
baked as it is in generous afternoon light.

The earth is a swirling body of dust and ashes.
The earth is a still-point
amid winds of change.
What is called for is courage.
What is required is deep listening.
Without them we grow weary and afraid.
We are whipped about,
stirred by anger and clashes.

Listen to the wind I say.
It blows where it will.
It stirs life.
It lifts us on blue wings.
It sings.
Do you hear it?

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson

P. S. If you enjoy this post, please share it with others!