A Psalm of Noticing

Lord you are the author of the green leaf
and the turning of its colour.

You lay me down in the grasses
to take in the zest of the earth.

Contemplation is among us now
in the living of quiet things.

The brilliant shiny blue shell of a beetle
with contrasting orange body, whirs out of confinement.

Lord, you are my teacher from creation
leading me on paths worn well.

You also invite me on the upward ways
not many are inclined to take.

Noticing the blessings I see in nature
trains me to become more aware within.

Not everything has beauty, but once you touch
these things with your hands, it all gains perspective.

Lord, you are my abiding Person of mystery
and my greatest friend of all description.

You are always a place to come home to
and at the same time, my pilgrim adventure.

Amen.

Jenneth Graser

Photography Micah Hallahan Unsplash

It Is Not So Hard to Go Within After All

It is not so hard to go within after all.

Open the gate of my garden home,

breathe on top of the morning chill, a song.

I feel you urge me towards the sanctuary.

It is more thorough than before, 

when I was so busy searching for what is lost.

The windows frame what is so familiar

and yet, it's all become a platform of the spectacular.

The shadows on the curtain were not there before

and now they are pulsing on the fabric cascade.

The jasmin that was closed in bud

is now a flush of white stars flung into the kitchen.

I was looking to move on, feel different,

get on with mid-life into whatever's next

and now I've been surprised into your face.

I've come to the grass under the knee,

I've come to the flowers in the grass

and all that lives under the grass.

I've come to the smallness of life

where your largeness is hidden.

Your face is growing with the roots

quietly interlaced and drinking

all the earth has to offer.

Jenneth Graser

Photography Aaron Burden Unsplash

Psalm of the Night Watches

I observe the breathing of my heart
as I lie on my bed through the night watches.

In combination with the air you give,
I breathe also in other realms.

I am alive in every part of this marvellous body
you have created.

I take in every moment,
searching my heart in the silence.

What sacrifices do you desire?
It is these I offer up to you with both hands trusting.

When many voices all over the world
clamour for any amount of good,
it is the light of your face that will continue to flame.

It is a greater abundance that I will find
in my soul where you meet with me,
than in the wealth of many houses combined.

I am safe in this love and will tarry here.

My meditation becomes sleep.
My sleep becomes rest
as your dreams ripple across the face of the night.

Amen.

Jenneth Graser

Nothing Short of a Miracle

New tools may be placed in old hands
where learning occurs.

Eyes that open from the inward
may affect the way all outward
things are seen.

A pregnant idea is not yet birthed.

Wait for true ripening;
then clarity may follow.

We are too much in a hurry with ourselves,
lest we lose our way.

Or slow into the breath.

Lifting a quilt under a sky of cold nights,
mists of exhalation dissipate
on each dream
just out of reach.

Come back to yourself.

When comfortable in your skin
everything ordinary and commonplace
becomes something to marvel at.

There is a large downy feather in the bathroom -
you have no idea where it came from.

And your neighbour is nothing short of
a miracle.

Jenneth Graser

Artist - PortLove

The Wake of Awareness

Fairer than the early hours fair.
With the hand of the clock, ticking
for more.

Light narrows the hours
and a pendulum sets into motion.

Braver than the midnight gong brave.

A soul of parchment is translucent
at dawn.
Every colour before the sun rises
touches the centre with soft warmth.

A friend or foe, each thought
must be determined
before driving out the latter.

To dwell in darkness though a
midday sun shines on the awning?

A kiss on the cheek of fears
at the leavetaking of each
acknowledged.

No longer the knee-jerk reactions.
Base instincts have slept in the
wake of awareness.

Jenneth Graser

Artist - Norman Duenas