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ways of waking up

on North Dakota days

are nature meeting nurture

and mother being there

devotions beckon

to a rocking chair and

then the eyelid of the sun

lifts to focus outdoors

maybe for the dog

or fetching what we will

checking on the river depth

and calling on a friend

organizing music

for any child’s debut

even at the nursing home

beyond a bloodmobile

racing toward a tomb

that Mary saw unsealed

now a tortoise and a hare

are unified in prayer

because the waking

is a promise kept, yes-

terday, today, tomorrow,

and because Jesus wept

this I’ve understood

from North Dakota days

and countless intersections

and mother being there