Cold and Holy Light

image by Rebekah Choat

In this cold and holy light
of morning, even
sparrows dare not speak.

~ Rebekah Choat

A Sunrise Sacrament

image by Rebekah Choat

I keep communion out of doors —
a sunrise sacrament —
in attendance:  just myself,
a cardinal celebrant,
a mourning dove
murmuring devotion reverent,
and out of sight, a mockingbird
singing a glad accompaniment.

~ Rebekah Choat

All I Know

I’ve answered many questions, “I don’t know”:
why birds can safely perch on power lines,
what makes the sky blue and the wind to blow,
how rain can fall sometimes while the sun shines;

and many mysteries elude me still:
why some loves last and others fade away,
the intersection of desire and will,
how eyes communicate what words can’t say.

I cannot fathom how the rivers run,
nor what the gull is crying to the sea,
nor where the hours go when they are done,
nor who I am that you should care for me.

The only thing I’m certain of to tell
is: all I am is yours and it is well.

~ Rebekah Choat

The Cardinal

image by Rebekah Choat

A bright messenger
reminds me every morning
life is sweet, sweet, sweet.

~ Rebekah Choat

Rain Reflections

image by Rebekah Choat

Dirty old alley
Pools of water left standing
by a morning rain

Placid reflections
of azure rain-washed skies
above traffic’s noise

Room to fly freely
without thought in the heavens
with clean air to breathe

Open skies mirrored
in pools left in the alley
by a morning rain.

~ Rebekah Choat

A Moment’s Clarity

At times I hear your voice – unmistakable –
singing in a language I have never learned:
Russian, perhaps, deep and dense,
or starlit Elvish,
or liquid laughing birdsong,
and for one stabbing instant
I know all you are saying.

~ Rebekah Choat

Exceptions

image by Rebekah Choat

Not all clouds have silver
linings. Some of them are trimmed
in purest gold.

~ Rebekah Choat