ThanksGiving
This morning I’m sharing a few lines of poetry from a handful of my favorite sages: Gerald Manley Hopkins, William Blake, Rumi, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Maya Angelou.
The world is charged with the grandeur of God
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with
toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell;
the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. — Gerald Manley Hopkins
To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.
For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity, a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.—William Blake
Wear gratitude like a cloak
and it will feed every corner of your life. —Rumi
No one could stop this magnificent momentum
no one could oppose this fiery defiance-
and he is still the one who takes a long step back
to offer his work the bright mirror of space. —Rainer Maria Rilke
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you
kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith
be the bridge you build to overcome evil and
welcome good. —Maya Angelou
May you enter this season of thanks and giving with joy and an open heart to receive and give.