Of Golden Leaves and a Crescent Moon

Full days. Where to begin?

A solitary train ride, as sun set over Hudson waters... rays slant, blushing on blue, then fading to charcoal as night descended. Walking alone through New York city streets, buildings rising mammoth, imposing, making me feel my smallness, taste it like strong tea brisk in my mouth.

Or the lone tree on U.N. Way still dressed in golden leaves that flipped like pennies in a child's hands. I stopped to take it in, there on the rushing streets of the city that never sleeps. On my way to hear Os Guinness at the Roosevelt. The Roosevelt, decked for the holidays, in greens and reds, sparkling lights, jazz music greeting me at the door. Chatter and velvet and the smell of cinnamon and vodka in the air.

Maybe I should speak of the crescent moon over the East River, exuding gentility and power like the grandfatherly poet Samuel Hazo who I heard Tuesday night. Steady and enduring as that crescent moon, he recited straight from memory for over an hour. Recited his own deep verse and a little Shakespeare, in an old Catholic church of stone and wood and flickering candles. Verse to make me laugh and cry. And he asked...

... can you think of one thing someone has said today or this week... one thing that you will never forget... if you can't, you must question your attention to the poetic that is all around you, waiting to be heard, sniffed, tasted...

In silent answer, the flavor of grapes came sweet in my mouth. Katie's grapes. Little three-year-old Katie, filching Grandpa's grapes from the Thanksgiving basket. The basket that had sat empty on that holiday, waiting for each of us to put our piece of fruit in it. Fruit we silently assigned a joy and a sorrow that we brought to this year's table. Grandpa's fruit: grapes. But who knows his joy and sorrow?

Mommy! my youngest had cried, Katie's eating Grandpa's joy and sorrow!

This is the line I won't forget. Like night falling on the Hudson, and a solitary train ride, and the golden penny tree, and the moon, the crescent moon, shining alone, seemingly small against the giant of New York City. The poetry of life, come to visit. Come knocking, asking, will you take me in?


Basket and Fruit photo by Saima Barkat. Used with permission.

POETRY FRIDAY:

Ann's Waiting Hope
High Calling's Random Acts of Poetry: Christmas Lament
LL's Midnight's Gift
Erica's Waiting Sky
Marcus's Where We Live

Come to Call

The other day, my spouse and I were joking about the prospects of a certain important person coming to visit us. "Can you imagine?" my husband laughed. We'd be calling, "Watch out for the big step!"

We have old stone stairs. They are different heights. One is actually three inches higher than the others. So we always subject our guests to a hearty shout, "Watch out for the big step!" It's a point of amusement by this time. But we realize it would actually be a source of embarrassment, if we had to shout such a warning to a very important person.

This got me thinking about how we act when we want to impress someone. We go around and clean up. We hide certain things. We might even tear down a staircase and erect a new one with proper step heights (depending on who was coming to call!).

In the book Austerlitz, one little ghetto experienced this clean-up act to a point of uneasy ludicrousness. Here were imprisoned Jews, suddenly treated to parks, window boxes, a new theater, and all other manner of loveliness and leisure, just because some important European government officials were going to make a visit.

And so it goes. The more important our visitors, the more we put on airs. Hide. Clean up.

In Isaiah, we are told to make way for the Lord of all creation. An important visitor. The most important visitor of all time and space. How do we make way? By cleaning up? By hiding? By rearranging?

No.

"Watch out for the big step!" we must call. And invite the Lord of All to ascend the crooked stairways of our souls.


Garden Fire artwork by Gail Nadeau. Used by permission. Seedlings Invitation: If you write a post related to this post and Link It Back Here, let me know and I'll link to yours.

NEW LINKS TO THIS POST:

LL's Peace Candle
LL's Unfolding
LL's Speak

RELATED POSTS:
At Tina and Friends: Prepare.
Charity's Advent thoughts