Double on that Negative

It should not have been a perfect day.

You were gone, all of you,
the sun was too high, and
the new basil stubbornly insisted on refusing to leaf in time for the evening's meal.

Conjunctions muddied every sentence with
their same-old, same-old-boring routine.
Nothing clicked or sprang or popped, buzzed or bubbled;
nothing sparked. Nothing rang.

No bells, no whistles. No catcalls, no heady perfumes.
No windfalls and no beginner's luck, no accolades,
no recognition, no requests for more, none of the

shim-sham of endless epiphanies I've begun, of late,
to equate with summer -- and yet,
( ).

Respite

What the girl wanted was to sit still for an hour where the dark shone sweetly
in its own Bright, where things lay still and straight
beneath a certain weight
somehow put behind them in the New of day.

She wanted a good friend and a low song,
sweet grass and a warm Earth,
eyes closing as the stars above shot past
in ineffable, heavenly rhythm,
applauding always the Great, the Very Good.

Another Teaser.

Hey, just because it's "Personal Admin Week 2006" here at Joplinista doesn't mean we can't hearken back to Rome circa, oh, three weeks ago, and admit that it is certainly on the docket to capture, forever, in white space. In the meantime, a simple quiz for those who miss school already:

Q: You're tired. You're hot. You're hungry, your feet are swelling like you're about to birth an elephant, your skirt just flew up over your head as you walked over a subway vent, and you know what? You're a wee bit grumpy. Now look at the giant sausage. What's it saying to you?

A.) Lick it!
B.) Typical.
C.) "Your estimated monthly payments, based on the information you provided, will be $1,125.57. To make these payments, you will need to earn a minimum annual salary of $146,940."
D.) All of the above, and then some.

The Prophetic.

"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married," says the Lord.

"Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.

"O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of agate,
our gates of carbuncles,
and all your wall of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.

"In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you...

Behold."*

Someone gave me this passage recently, and its meaning for the hurt places in my life -- well. That is for you and me to discuss another time, in another place, with the snow falling down gently in the White Mountains and a cup of cocoa steaming in both of our hands.

I have been comforted these past days in places I did not know needed soothing, and I want to thank God for that. I have been encouraged, when I thought to be the encouragement, and again I thank Him. And above all, I've been humbled once again by the grace He gives and the warmth of a people who have seen His true face, which I will always believe -- you cannot convince me otherwise -- resides somewhere in all the broken pieces of our world.

Do not hold back.

*Taken from Isaiah 54.