Chapter House

Come.
Sit.
Breathe.
Breathe again.

Imagine
there is a God.
Imagine
that he loves you
despite appearances to the contrary.

Breathe again,
each breath a banishment,
Exhale the pain.
Exhale the anger.
Exhale the voices in your head.

At the point you are ready to stop,
don’t.
Continue.
Breathe.
Empty yourself,
for the more empty you are
the more room there is
for God,
for Love,
for Peace.

About this Poem

In the middle ages and renaissance, the Chapter House was a room in the monastery where the monks gathered to pray and to listen to the word of God through readings. It was generally a simple room, compared to the cathedral itself, so as not to distract from the monks’ ability to let God in.

In today’s world, we rarely stop. We rarely open ourselves to God’s voice, preferring the voices in our head, or the voices of a hyperactive society. And we are poorer for it.

Tom