#AncientPathsarchive 2/5

Oct 24, 20191 min read

Lent

Published March 26, 2019 on the Ancient Paths Facebook page. Don’t give up chocolate for Lent. Give up guilt, give up regret for what...

Oct 24, 20192 min read

Via Crucis

Published on March 30, 2019 on the Ancient Paths Facebook page. The way is lonely and long, narrow and stony too, with potholes,...

Oct 24, 20191 min read

Fear

Published on the Ancient Paths Facebook page on April 6, 2019. Large As Omaha in 1958 My Fear visited for months My father every night ...

Oct 24, 20191 min read

Thoughts for a Penny

Published on April 13 on the Ancient Paths Facebook page. On the sidewalk, After the soft snow fell Over stark tree branches Bouncing...

Oct 24, 20191 min read

Palm Sunday Mischief

Published April 14, 2019 on the Ancient Paths Facebook page. Palms wave as the congregation sings Hosanna! Hosanna! Joel tickles his...

Oct 24, 20191 min read

Maundy Thursday

Published on the Ancient Paths Facebook page April 18, 2019 A thought emanates from within gray-matter. See how the head cocks, first...

Oct 24, 20191 min read

The Astrologer on Good Friday

The old man stroked his beard Bent low over his texts Eyes grown dimmer Outside workmen are finishing some project The hammer blows...

Oct 24, 20191 min read

Guilt

Softly. On tiptoe I creep. Across his room; Each step takes an eternity. His bedside lamp glows a pale yellow illuminating the...

Oct 24, 20191 min read

Have a Seat

It is too pleasing. I tried to work Thanksgiving at the soup kitchen though I waited too long and they didn’t need me. I whittled...

Oct 22, 20191 min read

The Meadow

In a Sunday morning meadow, the dewed grass bows to pray. The sun is in its pulpit to chase the clouds away. Swallows swoop like...

Oct 22, 20191 min read

While He Was Knitting You Together

—for Rajan Cloud and his Momma, 2016 All that time, you were in God’s mind. He knew you were coming before your Momma did. Still He...

Oct 22, 20191 min read

Chapels

Arriving at the chapel gates come noon, Almighty He allowed a moment's rest To those who'd had to keep their Warm and best emotions to...

Oct 22, 20191 min read

Every Trial Is Grace

My thoughts feel cold and cracked today like brittle autumn leaves. My heart dries up and I’m afraid, and life is misery. My mind...

Oct 22, 20191 min read

The Spaces Between

I show my house the pictures of you ask it if it remembers when you lived closer when you were a frequent guest. I feel the ache and...

Oct 21, 20191 min read

Michelangelo: Painter and Poet

Michelangelo with steel balls and a wire brush wishing he was wearing motorcycle leathers, going wild and crazy, stares cross-eyed...

Oct 21, 20191 min read

While Waiting

While waiting for the Greyhound bus, my dad and I, the two of us, recounted pleasant moments passed: the memories we had amassed, ...

Oct 21, 20191 min read

I Heard That

"Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool." —Proverbs 10:18 We whistle the wanton wind And once unfurled,...

Oct 21, 20191 min read

I Am the Way

Life finds a way. In boiling springs Bacteria thrive; And toxic waters Come alive. Life finds a way On ocean floors. In utter dark ...

Oct 21, 20191 min read

IF...(for Doug Huskey)

If you watched him stand up and walk to the pulpit today, you’d never know. If you lingered and listened to him sing “The Anchor...

Oct 21, 20191 min read

On Forgetting to "Find God in All Things"

Your advice makes sense to me, St. Ignatius. For I find that when I’m immersed in the raw materials of His creation, I’m most open to...