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

The Prayer of Observation

In the morning of our contemplation

we watch for the pale sky

on nothing but a seamless now.

We lose ourselves in the prayers of observation

where hibiscus petals unfurl nectar havens

waiting for bees,

and every blade of grass is felt under our feet.

The early sun is drawing us higher

where spirits merge with yours.

Lying on our backs we feel the earth 

beneath,

but it is the sky drawing pictures of birds

whirling into breakfast,

it is the clouds with no hurry

that hold our attention.

And it is ourselves we find no longer jaded

created on a morning in Eden

so many years ago, breathed from clay

into life.

Jenneth Graser

Hidden

It is good to be hidden in the great garden.
It is good to be hidden in rain.

It is good to be under the fingerprints
of green foliage among trees.

It is good to be hidden in the hand, in prayer,
to be under the wing.

To be hidden by wave upon wave, and behind the waterfall.

To be hidden in the womb and the fluff of the nest,
to be held in the cloth of motherly care.

To be under the night sky of a new moon
in the middle of a field looking into star upon star,
in the grass, hidden.

Such times were given to us so that we may listen,
and speak and be heard.

So that we may find ourselves
alone in the presence of greatness.

So that we may know we
are small

and yet find the universe is expanding on our breath
and upon each thought as we crest the tides
of love in being
hidden.

Jenneth Graser

Artist - Dorothy Lathrop

Remember what it is to be

When the straw falls on the back
of one too many camels,
it is time to shed weight.

To set up a tent beside an oasis
outside of civilization
where date palms hang heavy with fruit
and the sky is your only entertainment.

Here the water calls you
to remember the promises
etched on your inner skin,

where scriptures live as
tattoos on your heart.

And your fullness will overflow
as an oasis to others
who have traipsed through the desert;

just wishing to hurl all of the
doom and gloom into a pit
and longing to believe life

can be more simply lived.

So we remember ourselves into the moment
where time cannot drive eternity's pulse.

We go right back to the memories
of life without anything digital,
where nature suggests a rhythm for life
and we flow with it.

We know what we are supposed to be doing,
because we remember what it is to be.

Jenneth Graser

Artist - Leanna Teneyoke