today at midmorning
the two dogs barked
alerting me to the two men
striding up to knock on the front door
good morning gentlemen, i greeted them
and their serious suits
do you believe all religions grant access to heaven
they said. and one could tell where they were going
this conversation had on my doorstep
enough to be familiar
i don’t know, i answered
i don’t have a lot of answers
when it comes to faith and spirituality.
that is what i told them as they stool there
with pamphlets
they talked and i barely listened
i wish would have told them
i don’t know about all that gents
about the dying and saviors and eternities
the original sin and all that gents
about all that talk
what i know is my simple routine
of thanks and awe
noticing that this moment,
this midmorning is the most beautiful thing
and thank god for that,
right?
i wanted to tell them about my morning
i start my morning by rising
my first thought is always on the whereabouts
of my wife
is she there sleeping at my side
or has she risen, begun her day
perhaps is standing, stirring oatmeal
at the stove
and thank god for that
i may have a cup of steaming black coffee
as i step off the deck and into the garden
i notice the pepper plants
have reached out a little more
their sun salutation
the pepper now the size of a quarter
grown from the size of a dime
i see the eggplant fruit has begun
a purple so regal it should never be worn
except by this food
there is not yet ripe tomatoes on the vine
but green has changed to orange overnight
and harvest looms
the wall of sunflowers, taller, thicker
more heads crane their necks upward
it is as if all the colors of the foods and flowers
are new again
have i seen this before?
can this be life happening before my eyes?
when i water these plants
i think about the water’s origin
and the traveling it has done
to fall here and bring the smell
of rich soil to my nose
the scent of the zucchini with the tomatoes and basil
this is my summer morning prayer
of sorts
to stand back and take the world in
and thank god for that
i politely declined the pamphlets today
but perhaps one day i will prepare a little poem
with some of my great questions
more of my own little prayers
put it in my own little pamphlet
and trade it with the gentlemen who knock on my door
ask about my faith about all this
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