Sunday, November 29: Isaiah 64:1-9
Readiness
Along a street in Philadelphia, I recall,
the shadow of one wrapped in tattered cloth
beneath a tented cardboard sheet.
Three blocks to the Liberty Bell, nearer the Ritz,
around a corner from where
he will later sit and perhaps receive
a box of remains from some businessman’s breakfast.
Overhead, prophetic voices flash on electronic billboards:
“15 Minute Tests—No Waiting”
“Instant Credit”
“Free 2-day Shipping”
“Just do it!”
My father was a gentle man, encouraged patience,
but understood some folks might need to pass
before some others are free.
“Learn to labor and to wait.”
The hardest task of all is to wait for it, wait for it.
Come quickly Lord. I have a Zoom call at ten.
Emily D’s “thing with feathers”—hope—
survives as it may,
our own wishes little regarded,
and yet we dream of rising.
Somewhere an old broken bell tolls strangely
and we unroll ourselves
and stand to stretch our wings.
Perhaps today the promise . . .
Perhaps today our miracle arrives.
Doug Watson