T   H   I   S
inspired
T   H   I    S

It’s ugly
at first look
and first looks aren’t always reliable
or completely understood
Strips of love messages
that dangle into unjumbled knots
as we look at them

through unfocused eyes that see clearly
but not always plainly
The messages
that shout with voiceless whispers
and convey what no other missive
can share

Any communication of love
will leave an eye dampened
with a saltless tear
that neither drips or wipes away
leaving a stainless mark on the soul
We carry
most secretly until we meet
in a place that’ll never be described
                                            understood
with a last breath here
and the first breath in the beloved
T H E R E N E S S
that brings us all together
in an ahhhhhhhhhh
of complete 
Beautiugly Shaggy Wreath
w          a         y

May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love.

JOHN O’DONOHUE

Excerpt from ‘Matins’ in his books, Benedictus (Europe) /
To Bless the Space Between Us (US)

Stained for good

Jagged uneven pieces
Discarded for garbage
Hardly pieces of art
Until the Light

Explodes me instantaneously
To a panoramic brilliance of beams
That eyes can only merely see
But souls understand
experience         
Creating me
STAINED FOR GOOD
Assuring
that even a space
that once held a tinged altarpiece
still lets in Light