In a much lighter mood from The Odyssey I turn to Billy Collins. The back cover of the book I quote from today refers to Collins’ poems as follows – “…they may, and often do, begin with the everyday and end in the infinite. Collins has managed to enrich American poetry while greatly widening the circle of its audience. ” There is much to admire and ponder in Dharma. In these hot days of summer it is good to be reminded of the ordinary and the everyday happenings. Enjoy!
Dharma
The way the dog trots out the front door
every morning
without hat or umbrella,
without any money
or the keys to her doghouse
never fails to fill the saucer of my heart
with milky admiration.
Who provides a finer example
of a life without encumbrance—
Thoreau in his curtainless hut
with a single plate, a single spoon?
Gandhi with his staff and holy diapers?
Off she goes into the material world
with nothing but her brown coat
and her modest blue collar,
following her wet nose,
the twin portals of her steady breathing,
followed only by the plume of her tail.
If only she did not shove the cat outside
every morning
and eat all his food
what a model of self-containment she would be,
what a paragon of earthly detachment.
If only she were not so eager
for a rub behind the ears,
so acrobatic in her welcomes,
if only I were not her god. Billy Collins from Sailing Alone Around the Room
Prayer:
Lord God, we often question
why you made mosquitoes but
understand why butterflies.
We often question why ants, but delight
in hummingbirds. We often ponder the
elephant and delight in grandchildren trying to
catch fireflies.
Thank you Lord for the
complexity and majesty of the abundance of
nature. Help us to delight and not destroy,
to preserve and provide for all things bright and beautiful
all creatures great and small. Amen.
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 