Great Litany

Tradition often means the first Sunday in Lent includes the Great Litany chanted in a pretzely procession around the church. This Sunday the labyrinth is also available at church.  We may walk around the block... later.

This year

The Great Litany coincided

With Valentine’s Day.

We decided to forgo

The Litany,

Stay home.

Sleep in.

Drink coffee.

The labyrinth,

Its pretzely path

Is also available

At church.

We may walk around the block

Hold hands.

Valentine

Different people merit different valentines.

Whenever I see a butterfly,

You come to mind,

My beloved,

You come to mind.

I remember.

I smile.

Valentine's Day

Of course the questions remains:  did I notice the red birds more yesterday because of the occasion or do they always come?  The red birds tend not to be ground birds, so the fly in, grab a seed, then fly away.  Still... whichever it is, I love it.

The birds showed up

Dressed for the day,

Pecked the seed from the ground:

The male cardinal

Bright as anything,

The red-bellied woodpecker

Most notable

For his scarlet mullet

Yet singularly indistinguishable

Belly.

The red birds showed to accent

The juncos

The sparrows

The starlings.

The red birds showed

To accent the crowd gathered

In the cold.

They all

Ate seed.

So many things count as love

For my sweetie, my beloved, Jeff.  

So many things count as love:

The double bunch of tulips

Crammed in the vase;

The invitation to dinner

Tomorrow night

So we can wait home tonight

For our daughter,

Now 16,

Out to dinner;

The endless series

Of cards with small children

Holding hands,

So we can remember our childhood

Together

Even though we met

In our mid-thirties;

Together

Noticing the squirrels in the backyard

As they fluff their tails;

Seeing the way the cat

Matches the new floor tile

In the kitchen.

So many things count as love:

The fist bump

Over the top of the shower stall

When leaving;

The call before coming home

Once again.

So many things

Count as love.

Late valentine to the chauffeur, for all the world to see

I come to an end of my time as only a passenger.  My beloved has been my chauffeur.  I am glad for the coming independence.  I am also grateful for morning and evening conversations, the ways we both point out particular birds or signs or possibilities, the talk of the day ahead, and the day behind.  Most of all I am glad for the talk.

No one sits in the front seat

With the chauffeur,

Plays footsie or alternatively

Handsie,

Comments on the odd street signs,

The way the clouds move,

The particular order

To the day ahead.

Shall I pick you up at 4:30?

He says.

4:30 is good,

She says.

No one kisses the chauffeur

Goodbye,

Then waits to kiss him hello

When he returns.

No one that is,

But me,

Sits in the front seat

With the chauffeur without a hat

Plays handsie,

Waits to kiss him hello

When he returns.