Alas, as Rod Stewart says in probably his best song (certainly one 2L2A3): "It's late September and I really should be back at school"...
In Bohemia, and probably most Catholic lands, the parish prays specifically for students going back to school. Katerina and I have been at it for over a month, international schools usually starting mid-August. Joe and Ben and Em have begun at Kepler Gymnasium, Petriny Art School, Hanspaulka Prep respectively, and it is wonderful to see much care in their curricula.
We pray also for a good senior year at Lake Forest, Andrew, and the new opportunities in Madison, Andrea. Lots of activities in Champagne, from Potter cousins to KC to Tilo. We pray for all of your teachers, too.
And we pray for Brother/Son/Father/Uncle/Ever-with-us Josh. He will be 47 on Monday, celebrating from heaven, praying more steadfastly for us. I realized as I crafted this week's poem that Josh listened to us instinctively, deliberately, gracefully, and among a thousand other things, I'll miss that in face-to-face time. I'll count it more, though, in prayer-time, listening so deep:
http://lostmenagerie.blogspot.cz/2016/09/listen-so-deep.html
Dan, you should share these poems directly, sans linkage. But I'll let you preserve your modesty:
ReplyDeletelisten so deep
This is a ditty for Joshua Paul
when the summer goes long and
we wonder this fall if the crocus
will want to bloom, after all,
grieving for Joshua Paul.
Say, Brother, how you listen so deep
Feeling was gritty in eighty-two
when our grandpa passed on and
another one too in the middle
of running towards lots to do,
training for eighty-two.
Say, Brother, how you listen so deep
Then in the city of Amsterdam
when the workshop shuffled and
I hopped on a tram to the Bospark
harmony of lion and lamb,
waylaid in Amsterdam.
Say, Brother, how you listen so deep
Life is a pretty much call to prayer
when our passports expire and
we need to prepare for the untold
miracles we’re bound to share,
cultured in calls to prayer.
Say, Brother, how you listen so deep
I will take brothers' advice, as this symposium is meant to bring all good gifts to the table. The modesty is, however, two-fold: I tend to revise each weekly attempt a couple times, and 'Lost Menagerie' is what I hope to maintain as final drafts; the real thrust of this week is "back at school" and prayers for that transition. I realized mid-writing that I was being insular (as lyrical poetry tends to be) about my experience in '82, Amsterdam, etc, when I wanted to be expository about Brother Josh. The single-line chorus put the whole thing in perspective, the Romans 12:15 Josh witnessed (witnesses) so well.
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