Autumn Stillness . . .

 

Photo by: Mary Ann F.

In the stillness of an autumn afternoon                                                                                        

we sit in quiet communion. Before us,

hills and valleys yawn, spreading wide

their yellow and green, ochre and gold

harvest of hay, beans and corn.

All summer long these fields drank

daily offerings of dew and sunlight.

We listen to the hush of hills, a hawk

above us riding thermal winds,

the drying corn nearby whispering

Praise! Praise! Praise!, the grass

beneath our squeaking swing

chanting, sotto voce, Thank you, God. 

Everything around us whispers shhh

.And when we do, we hear the holy

breath of God bringing forth the world.

Poem by: Sister Irene Zimmerman, SSSF