By David Russell Mosley
Lent is often looked at as a dark time. And rightly so. Dust we are and to dust we shall return. And yet, Lent is a time, at least for us in the Northern Hemisphere for new life. The word itself, lent, comes from Anglo-Saxon and means lengthening, pointing to the lengthening of days that happens during Spring. It is a paradox. The world around us speaks to the return of Christ before our liturgical season does, as though it is preparing us for Easter, telling us not to despair, that the Sun will come again.
What we need are the eyes to see these deeper truths, these deeper realities around us. The arts can help clear the cobwebs from the windows of the eyes. Whether creating it or engaging with art made by others, the arts can help us see the world around us more clearly. For myself, writing poetry is one of the ways I try to clean my own windows and help others around me do the same. Most recently, I published a collection of poetry, Liturgical Entanglements, which seeks to look at the Church Calendar itself as a way to help us see the world as is it is. Time and eternity meet in the liturgy, angels descend and ascend, the creator of the cosmos becomes something so small and easily destroyed. These are the things I try to help others and myself see through my poetry. Of course, there is darkness, memento mori and all that. But we cannot live in the darkness. We must seek the light.
“Re-Creation”
The once-dead Earth is coming back to life,
We see the first fruits rising from the ground.
We hear the music of the birds whose flight
Signals that the land is no longer drowned.
Drinking deep of this life-giving water,
The means of death has caused new life to be;
Life from death and joy comes with it after
Death and decay have gone into the sea.
And the Sun now rises more golden than before,
The Moon and Stars more luminous and bright.
All we have to do is open up the door
And not allow ourselves to fear the night.
For there is one who knocks at the door for us,
And he breathes life into the meanest dust.
To find out more about my work, especially my most recent book, published by Resource Publications, go to my website: https://www.davidrussellmosley.com.
Sick Pilgrim 