Butterfly Mulch

 

“Cocoon Mulch”

Fine wood chips,

Chunky wood chips,

Discarded trees being repurposed,

Wood chips now mulch,

Shoveling and collection mulch,

Spread over flowering beds,

Dirt to be kept cool,

Starting plants with color,

Cocoons well fed of mulch,

Mulch to direct butterflies toward the floral colors!

[This reflection is based upon a work day at Grant Community Garden; a morning of shoveling and spreading mulch to call the butterflies; the photo is Swiss Chard from the NourishPhx plant bed]

Easter Week - Simon the Wanderer

 

“Simon the Wanderer”

 

Cyrene is my home in the countryside,

I am a wanderer,

Jerusalem called me away from this place,

There was a Teacher, who healed the body and heart,

The populous of the surrounding towns and countryside flooded into Jerusalem,

I moved with the crowds,

A soldier pulled me from the crowd to help the Teacher walk to his death,

The Teacher, a simple man with a simple message of love, was crucified,

For wrongs I do not know or understand,

At Golgatha, women weep and wail,

I watched as an unspoken sadness filled my soul,

But I did not weep, just stared into the midday darkness,

The body of the Teacher is taken down from the cross to be buried,

I follow the women and followers of the Teacher from distance,

The Teacher is buried and the tomb is sealed,

Now the followers of the teacher scattered

There is not place for me to scatter to,

I sit at the tomb,

There is comfort here,

Different from my home in Cyrene,

For, I am a wanderer.

[This reflection is a scenario of Simon of Cyrene, the Fifth Station of the Cross, or is it me]

Holy Week Walk with My Friend

 "Holy Week Walk with My Friend"

My Friend, a Teacher, is carried into a festival crowd on a colt,

This Teacher is deemed a hero who has words of Hope, and actions of Love,

Time for one-on-one conversation with My Friend will not occur,

My Friend, the Teacher is busy outlining to the students what is needed for Passover,

Two students are challenged by the Teacher concerning trust of friendship,

One will deny the friendship,

One will betray the friendship,

The broken friendships will be painful,

Chief Priests and Clerics feel that the Teacher’s talks are blasphemy,

Yet, My Friend puts political unrest aside by sharing a meal for Passover,

Cultural custom of feet to be washed from the dusty road,

Not just individually but by the Teacher, out of Love, to all who will share the meal,

Following the meal, the My Friend wanders off to pray,

Again, time for one-on-one conversation with My Friend will not occur,

My Friend, the Teacher has been arrested,

My Friend will be crucified,

An angry crowd now taunts My Friend,

I am asked to carry the cross as My Friend stumbles, at least three times,

At Golgotha, I hear the sounds of ropes tightening, as My Friend’s body is raised onto a cross,

An earthly silence occurs with darkness throughout the horizon,

My Friend has died,

I am sad but I do not weep,

It is Friday and Sabbath will soon begin, so My Friend’s body must be buried,

A Tomb has been donated with a large stone to enclose it,

My Friend is at rest, yet very much ALIVE,

That is the mystery of Holy Week,

It does not matter, now I will sit and wait, and let S.E.L.F. talk to My Friend.

[This reflection is based upon my own struggle of Holy Week (2021). Everything from alone-ness to feeling "out of place". Realizing that I seek a Friend, but who was that Friend; the Sacred Space book talks about "Jesus standing and sitting beside me. . .speaking as one friend to another." It is time to open myS.E.L.F. (Soul Evolves (a) Life Flow) and be ready to talk to Jesus. The Icon is Jesus and Abbot Menas ]

Holy Saturday Discovery

 "Discovered"

Winding Wandering Labyrinth's Holy Journey,

Stones aged from steps over timely years,

Greenery Flower Feather Opening the Tomb.

 

[This haiku reflection evolved while walking the Labyrinth at Trinity Cathedral on Holy Saturday I struggled to connect with Holy week. The walk helped me to "Be Still" and LOOK around]