On Pilgrimage

March 15, 2008 · by Christine

The Hammock

When I lay my head in my mother’s lap
I think how day hides the star,
the way I lay hidden once, waiting
inside my mother’s singing to herself. And I remember
how she carried me on her back
between home and the kindergarten,
once each morning and once each afternoon.

I don’t know what my mother’s thinking.

When my son lays his head in my lap, I wonder:
Do his father’s kissses keep his father’s worries
from becoming his? I think, Dear God, and remember
there are stars we haven’t heard from yet:
They have so far to arrive. Amen,
I think, and I feel almost comforted.

I’ve no idea what my child is thinking.

Between two unknowns, I live my life.
Between my mother’s hopes, older than I am
by coming before me. And my child’s wishes, older than
I am
by outliving me. And what’s it like?
Is it a door, and a good-bye on either side?
A window, and eternity on either side?
Yes, and a little singing between two great rests.

—Li-Young Lee, from Book of My Nights

I am going on a journey to explore this space between the two unknowns and to discover my own song between the two great rests.  Who knows what gifts I will return with?

** I am out of town until the end of March but I do have access to email if you need to reach me.  Any orders for prayer cards or reflective art journals will be filled when I return.  If you’d like to register for the Women’s Easter Retreat, please feel free to either email or snail mail your registration.

I am taking a blog sabbatical during these next two weeks.  Come back on Monday, March 31st for our next Poetry Party! **

(photos are from the shores of the Hood Canal)

-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

Posted in Photos, Poetry, Pilgrimage |