From Rose Breath collection

GOOD COMPANY ON THE WAY

This silver shiver of life
that passes through me now
burnt as flame in Moses's bones,
and moved as wind through Isaiah's voice;
it softly shimmered as a pale bird
above Jesus' wet hair;
it betrothed barefoot Francis
and became liquid light in Rumi's pen;
it was a rose bud in the breast
of Joan of Arc
and the flame which consumed her flesh.
And there are countless unnamed ones
who yielded open and learned to love--
common folks now famous in Heaven,
who let the gentle ecstasy pour through.




SUNDAY OBSERVATIONS

When the spirit is naked and open
so life can course through it,
then the flash of a woman's thin thigh
is as beautiful
as a quiet discussion of recent history,
or the homily of an old priest,
or the raucous caw of a blue jay
or the sight of birds drifting through trees,
or a dog's restrained, wary speech,
or the splash of river water on a stone,
or the taste of blueberries,
or the writing of poems.