Brevity

On this second day of Easter I woke up thinking Hooray!  Once again, He is Risen!  This was the day, when my children were small, we would go out on a walk scouting signs of new life.  This is the day that life begins again, no matter how much life has gone over the dam, under the bridge. Now is the time to take a breath... and begin again.

I preach short.

I have always

Preached short.

Even thirty years in,

When I preach,

My sermons

Are short.

Years ago,

An associate,

I always thought

I was asked to preach

Christmas and Easter

Because I preached short.

Now I wonder if I was asked

To preach

Because I left room

For breathing.

Perhaps sometimes

There is more to brevity

Than mere brevity.

Perhaps.

Autumnal reflection

As I drop letters after my name, I feel strangely lighter.  My beloved and I joke about what it will look and sound like when only a breath mark remains.  I don't know what other couples talk about over breakfast, but this is one of our conversations.

As leaves fall,

Chill arrives,

It seems right

I continue the process

Of subtraction:

Certifications

After my name,

Recently acquired certifications,

Are the first to go.

The degrees were earned

And paid for,

They can stay

For now.

Soon enough

They too will go.

I imagine one autumn

My family name will dissolve

Letter by letter

Until only the name

God recognizes

Will remain.

Until finally

Even those letters will disappear

And

I am named

As breath in…

Breath out…

Then words

Will have done their duty.