Proverbs
May 29,  2010

yesterday morning

i watched the sun come up

over the bay at South Yarmouth.

except for two rabbits taking turns chasing each other

across the lawn of the bass river motel

and a black bird

perched on a telephone wire above me,

i was alone.

despite its predictability,

the sun’s rising

is always startling.

at precisely five fifteen,

 the sickle sharp red curve of the sun

inched up over the horizon and slipped

through the low clouds

and daylight began.

 the vault of heaven

brightened,

the bay was paved

with pale rose light,

and a distant coast appeared.

i expected this daily recreation

to be spectacular

and i wasn’t disappointed.

Proverbs, today’s first reading, said that the lord had put

a lot of thought into placing mountains in their proper places,

designing a magnificent vault to frame the face of the sea,

and then filling it with a hundred billion stars.

as Proverbs says, the lord wanted to delight us.

i went back to my car,

retrieved my orange and purple

styrofoam cup of dunkin donuts coffee

from its holder

and took my other half of

an old fashioned donut

from a brown paper bag

and continued to reflect on

what i had just seen.

i opened the car window

and looked east again to see if anything

had changed.

it had.

the red sun had detached itself from the horizon

and hung high above it

in a perfect circle of

blazing white

so brilliant and intense that my eyes could

not stand to

stare.

i had to turn away

and in my turning thought

that what i had seen before

was but a glint of

 what was in store for us.

at  that moment, i surrendered

my attempt at words to express

gratitude for the gift of creation

and trusted that the Lord

would accept my failed effort.