Only

Mary, as she stood in front of the empty tomb, saw a man and thought he was only a gardener.  Last night, at the Easter Vigil, we rang bells when Easter came.  Tintinnabulation is the fancy word for it.  If only we heard bells such as these when we were in danger of dismissing the Holy.  Of course then, we might be deaf!  It is Easter.  It is always Easter.  We are human.  We forget.  My friend Sam Portaro wrote a wonderful piece  on Missing Easter.  It is here: http://credoveni.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/missing-easter/   I recommend it.

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen. Indeed.

Whenever we hear the word

Only,

Bells should sound,

Tintinnabulation

Unlike any other,

Startle us,

Clear the space

Between our ears,

Clean the haze

From our eyes.

Tintinnabulation.

Bells should sound

At

Only a gardener

In front of the stone

Rolled away,

The empty tomb.

Only a stranger on the road,

Only a man on the shore.

Bells should sound:

A cacophony of bells,

A mellifluence of bells,

Rung on a regular basis

At only:

Only a child

Only a woman

Even

Only just this once

I*ll only do it one time,

It shouldn*t matter

Just this once.

Bells should sound,

Tintinnabulation

Unlike any other,

Bells to wake us up so there*s no way

To miss it.

Even  only

Just this once.