John 15:14

You pray in the early morning,
a silent murmuring that flies
from your too comfortable walls

to a place you cannot imagine,
to a God so other that all pictures fail,
and prayer is left, disappearing into hope.

You pray in the early morning,
listening for the soft reply.
Perhaps it is your age,

or the noise in your own brain,
monkey mad, full of illusions
and cacophonous music,

but you hear nothing.
You take a deep breath and open your eyes.

It is time to leave. To go somewhere else,
to mingle with strangers and see
what they, the unsuspecting voice of God,

have to say.

About this Poem

From my daily devotions. John 15:4 reads: “No branch can bear fruit by itself: it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit, unless you remain in me.”

Aloneness is the great killer. Parts of us may thrive in solitude, but even those of us who do, too much aloneness dries us up, digs into the fissures of our flaws and splits them, and leaves us weak. Connection makes us better, more complete,more creative.

Tom

PS: Another painting this morning, instead of a photograph. It’s been cold and I haven’t been out with my camera much the past few days. Besides. the painting seemed to fit. It’s called “Christ in the Crowd”