One evening, after Vespers, about two Augusts, ago I sat on the porch of my hermitage at Hesychia House of Prayer and beheld the evening moving slowly into night. It was a beautiful beholding! No journal or bible in sight, I did Lectio with the Twilight Hour. After I went into my hermitage I sat down and wrote what I remembered. I named it
Canticle after Vespers: progressive view from a country porch swing.Day is done
Three cows in the pond
One cow thinking about going into the pond
Fifteen cows grazing in the green shadowed grass
One cow mournfully mooing
as though our world will never be healed
Three calves joyfully frolicking
as though there is no need for mouning at all
four layers of blue green hills as a back drop
Three humming birds hovering over my head
Two mocking birds sitting on the fence
One glowing sun descending in the west
One August moon rising in the east
Three lazy purple clouds saying their night prayers
Only God knows how many locusts singing from the trees
A sweet summer breeze coming in from the east
One August moon growing larger
One lone firefly looking for a mate
One August moon growing bright as a harvest moon
Three stars coming out to look at the moon
One mooing cow (finally) lying down to rest
A great star family growing in number
The choir of locusts ending their song
Three more fireflies joining the loner
The canopy of night sky remembering the earth
A great silence falling upon me
A small joy spreading through me
A large wish for world peace washing over me
Fifty-five wordless prayers dwelling within me
Day is done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_Macrina Wiederkehr, taken from The Circle of Life
[written at Hesychia House of Prayer,
founding site of St. Scholastica Monastery]
This is a wonderful exercise for the soul. Go outside or just sit by a window. Your homework is to spend time beholding. After about a half hour, go away from the sight you were beholding and in poetry form, record what you remember.
