What did the poet ask of me?
To see the world in a grain of sand…
I have long lost that ability
But I can watch the toddler on the beach
Discover it for herself
To see heaven in a wildflower…
I don’t know if I ever had that ability
But I can watch Woody tend his garden
And pause to admire the volunteer plant
To hold infinity in the palm of your hand…
Once, in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
I gazed upon impossibly tiny babies
And thought of that line in Blake’s Augeries
To hold eternity in an hour…
Now, each hour, any hour
I ask no more of this life
Than this hour, this heartbeat
Month: August 2026
Celestial System
I will never know
Their religions
Their politics
Their faults
Their selfishness
Their failings
Their regrets
Their ugliness
I only know
Their competence
Their faithfulness
Their skill
Their compassion
Their close attention to my body
Their matter-of-fact wiping of my dirty bum
Their constancy
They needed no praise from me
They needed no words at all
Other than answers to necessary questions
In my exhausted silence
They formed a celestial system
Gently, faithfully orbiting around me.
Inspired by Salve Regina
Hail, Holy Queen, Hope of Earth,
Virgin, Mother and Wise Woman.
To you do we cry,
Mud-made, Spirit-filled children of Gaia.
To you do we send up our sighs,
Fearful for this parched, abused world.
Extend, most fertile Womb,
Your hands of caring toward us.
Bless our stewardship
As you were blessed
That this your world may be
Renewed, protected, preserved
By the fruit of your womb, Jesus,
O clement, O loving, O sweet Mother Mary.
Butsy's Blog 