Poems

" Something has got to happen," the woman declared One noon in early spring, when sun lay warm On street and passer-by. All nature shared Its gentleness.

Suppose a figure in mathematics— Say a two or a seven, a thousand, a fraction— Could fall a victim to some attraction. Could become so bemused as to actually seem To have gone to sleep, to be dreaming a dream Of an upset universe of number Where, besieged by each other (in fear-filled slumber), Each seemed out of place and somewhere far From where law and order and Rightness are— (From where each numerical entity Remains unchanged through eternity, Where values, relationships, stand defined In the infinite calculus of Mind).

The wisdom that was Solomon's Came from a heart that understood The Father's great beneficence, The universal power of good. So we, in seeking guidance, may Turn to the one all-knowing friend To find that love in wisdom dwells, And wisdom must on Love depend.

Oh, rise up from the city of Cain, City of loneliness, lying apart In the shadowy depths of the land of Nod, Land of wandering. Rise up now, and fear not the darkness, The dream-haunted darkness of Cain, the journey From city to city in steady procession, Cities past numbering: Shushan, Babylon, Sodom, Nineveh, Tyre, Damascus, The path, rising steep into Nazareth and Bethlehem, Ever ascending.

On placid lake and mountain trail I sought Contentment's quiet ways, but yearning thought Was not appeased by aimless wandering. I loved earth's promise, but some nameless thing Robbed me of joy and peace.

I am where I am under God's law. His way lies open for my progress, free.

I shall be still today, That I may know Christ walks earth's troubled sea Of anxious thought To calm unrest. Then in the silence Of the "Peace, be still" The Christ will bid me "Come.

Just as a little child will take the hand Outstretched to steady his first steps, and smiles With sweet simplicity and with full trust, Not questioning the one whose love he feels, So may we trust our Father-Mother God, And lovingly accept God's hand to guide Each step we take. And may we put aside Long-cherished plans, false pride, and every fear, And, meekly trusting in God's love for us, Strive more and more His laws to understand.

Our Father in heaven, and our Mother, Grant us to strongly feel The pure animation of Thy will. Bless us with patience.

When, through the lens of Spirit, vision clears, Material dimness, all that makes less sure Our trust in God's all-power, disappears. The focus is on peace when thought is pure.