Haiku for Benedict
This coming Sunday is my last as Associate Rector of St. Paul's. In that sermon, I plan to say goodbye much more explicitly. In this last Wednesday morning sermon, I thought I would take a different tack and try something a bit more experimental in style, and maybe something a little lighter. This will be quite a switch for me, as I tend to always do a fairly traditional style sermon, even on these 6:15 am weekday morning services.
I chose haiku not because I pretend to have any particular skill in the form (as will be clear upon reading them), but because I enjoy experiencing them myself. On rare occasions, I will have a haiku moment: a haiku will occur to me in the course of the day, capturing the briefest of moments in phrase. Usually, these elude me when I go back to retrieve them. Back in March one didn't. Perhaps I should explain to the reader, though, that I am not intentionally engaging the "bad haiku" genre of writing -- the mediocrity present is not ironic.
With these haiku, I hope that a moment of our early morning eucharist might pause in its procession and open up to us as a flower to the sun.
Dry altar flowers
Early morning parishioners
Thirsty for God’s grace
quiet gently breaks;
to you all hearts are open;
the Word of the Lord.
lift sleepy prayers up
raise the chalice, show the bread
God’s glory among us
Our food from heaven
morsel of bread, sip of wine
new life for the world
now it is finished:
almighty, everliving God
send us out to work
I chose haiku not because I pretend to have any particular skill in the form (as will be clear upon reading them), but because I enjoy experiencing them myself. On rare occasions, I will have a haiku moment: a haiku will occur to me in the course of the day, capturing the briefest of moments in phrase. Usually, these elude me when I go back to retrieve them. Back in March one didn't. Perhaps I should explain to the reader, though, that I am not intentionally engaging the "bad haiku" genre of writing -- the mediocrity present is not ironic.
With these haiku, I hope that a moment of our early morning eucharist might pause in its procession and open up to us as a flower to the sun.
Dry altar flowers
Early morning parishioners
Thirsty for God’s grace
quiet gently breaks;
to you all hearts are open;
the Word of the Lord.
lift sleepy prayers up
raise the chalice, show the bread
God’s glory among us
Our food from heaven
morsel of bread, sip of wine
new life for the world
now it is finished:
almighty, everliving God
send us out to work
posted by Jason at 6:21 PM
5 Comments:
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Are you off to the UK then soon?
Gaunilo:
Thanks!
No, we don't leave until some time in September, which leaves a rather awkward six weeks of not really living anywhere or doing anything. We will do some miscellaneous work, try to sell our house, move our belongings, live with my in-laws and try not to spend much money. In no particular order. This is going to be an interesting time for us psychologically with everything so up in the air.
JF
Wow! Best wishes. Our move to Nashville has been difficult enough - and that's not even in the same ballpark as your move!
It must be a late start for the term over there.
Lovely haiku. I think you disparage your talent too much.
I suspect many pre-moving tasks will fill those 6 weeks.
Yes, I could say from a technical point of view perhaps why they are not great haiku, but I can tell you from an emotional point of view, as a priest, that they speak to me quite deeply. And therefore, they are good haiku. They take a large experience and put it into the fewest words possible and make it very potent thereby. Thanks you for sharing them.
"lift sleepy prayers up" I KNOW that, and your words make me know it even more.
Fr. Sean Lotz
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