Evensong

Above the trees
A hawk wheels screaming
Against the azure sky
Where cloud-dragons twist and coil

About my feet
The chipmunks skitter

The sky darkens with evening
The hawk finds its nest
The cloud-dragons are gone
The chipmunks settle in their burrows

The dog barks
And appears with his owner for a walk.

Bunnies appear
Cautious and quiet
Ears atwist

Evening birds sing
A bat swoops by

I poke the fire and sparks fly up
Fireflies blink
Stars peek

Peace soaks in

May peace and joy surround you

Muddy, Floody Happiness

This was a tough week for many.
Murder, religious hatred and flooding darkened it.

On my daily commute, I have seen the tragedy of the flooding first hand, with some houses struggling to keep their roofs above water.

And with the rain continuing into the week, the flooding persisted, only slowly subsiding as the rains lessened.

In one community, the locals used small rowboats to get to the raised railbed, and then walked along the rails to get to town.

But on Friday, the sun came out, and began the serious work of drying things up, and on my way home, I chanced to see a man, a resident of one of the flooded areas, rowing to the railbed with his golden retriever in the back of his boat.

And that dog was just as happy as a dog could be, waving his tail, and lifting his nose to sniff all the different muddy, floody smells. You could tell that for him, this was a great and exciting day.

And I pray we may all find moments of joy in our lives, even in the dark bits.