Easter memories

            Fragments hold us together,

some memories of times past

-         the way we were,

the ways we walked,

the turns our talk took

the thrill we felt

to hear we were called

to follow wherever he’ll lead us.

All this shaped the vision we shared -

still present vividly, though recalled

in handling broken bits of bread

and the cup blessing us with a joy

that gathers us in memory of him.

These fragments bind us together,

re-membering us being rich, but costly

-         for a price must be paid

to triumph over time’s game

that tricks us to think fancifully

the bitter taste of the tomb

can be bypassed by allowing it

to lapse sweetly in silence,

yet this quiet bestirs in us new hope.

This fresh breath frees our hearts

from clutching at dusky shadows

that like cobwebs distract our desire

from looking outwards to peripheries

to which true memory of him points.

His fragments invite us to be at-one,

betokening more than mere relics

-         like those flimsy keepsakes,

treasures some keenly seek

to preserve lest they forget

what is left of his life

in a pile of linen clothes

no longer able to hold him bound.

While he’s now no more, his gift of self

leads even yet further into searching

to explore and penetrate the mystery

of his presence, though beyond sight,

beheld embracing poor humankind.

© Michael L. Gaudoin-Parker,

     Assisi, Easter 2017.