The Cock Crows

This morning, as you lay in bed,
you heard a cock crow,
welcoming the first light,
an unusual sound, here

in the small mining town,
defined by the slate quarry
that towers dark and foreboding
over the narrow streets.

A second time the cock crows
and you burrow under the quilt,
unwilling to let the morning
call you into the cold.

The windows lighten
and somehow the cock’s calls
echo in your head,
soft and painfully insistent.

There comes a time when it is no longer theoretical,
When the images of lands far away,
of the hungry and broken,
the betrayed and those crippled

unneedfully, in heart, soul and body
are not some painful picture on the television,
or the stuff of novels and imaginings,
but personal, undeniable,

fearfully real.

What then? When there is no place to flee,
when the darkness is on your doorstep,
persecuted, torn, sad beyond grief, haunting,
following like a ghost, mournful even in the bright sun

that grows outside your window.
You burrow deeper under the quilt.
You shut your eyes in denial of the day,
of the realness.

The cock crows a third time.

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About the poem

This is the fourth of a cycle of Lenten poems. In four short days, the writing of these poems has evolved from a writing exercise to a spiritual discipline. Each day now, I think on the topic for the next day. I bend my bible reading and devotions to the upcoming topic, and I have become more mindful of what is happening in my life, even to the smallest things, looking for inspiration.

This morning, a rooster crowed. I live in a small village in Southwest Vermont and in the three and a half years I have been here, I have never heard a rooster. Somehow I knew it had to be the centerpiece of today’s poem. And so it is.

The picture was taken of the morning sky this morning just in front of my house. Dark and foreboding. Like injustice.

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About these Lenten Poems

My friend Cathy Benson is on to something. Instead of doing without for Lent, she is doing MORE with a prayer project that is thoughtful and caring.

Giving up something for Lent is a church tradition, not a biblical command. It was designed to get our minds and hearts right as we approach the holy week and Easter. It’s a good spiritual discipline.

But I think a spiritual discipline of doing something more is also a powerful way to prepare our hearts for Easter. The Methodists, through their “Rethink Church” initiative have come up with a photographic way to do this (see below). I am going to add a poem with each image for the lent season to help prepare myself. Feel free to glom on to the idea, visit to blog and read, share your thoughts and your prayers.

If you want to read all the Lenten Poems, go to the “lent” category on the right, and it will list them for you.