{"id":2942,"date":"2019-03-06T14:37:55","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T19:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=2942"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:44:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:44:54","slug":"ash-wednesday-denise-levertov-for-ash-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2019\/03\/06\/ash-wednesday-denise-levertov-for-ash-wednesday\/","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday – Denise Levertov for Ash Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ash Wednesday, \u00a0 March 6, \u00a02019 \u00a0 – – > \u00a0\u201cLent\u201d \u00a0= \u00a0\u201cSpring\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mardi Gras has come and gone, opening the Christian tradition to the season of prayer called \u201cLent.\u201d \u00a0That word has Anglo Saxon roots and means \u201cSpring,\u201d the\u00a0season when, in northern parts of the planet, what had looked dead \u2014 frozen earth, leafless trees \u2014 shows new life. \u00a0But gradually, re-birth takes its time. \u00a0 The 40 day Lenten prayer season is less about giving things up (e.g., sweets, beer, other fancy things) and more about coming close to growing things to watch for new life. \u00a0 You might try this during the 40 days. \u00a0 Choose a little tree that you pass most days, \u00a0one where you can stand close to one of its branches, say 6 inches away from your nose. \u00a0Stand still and breathe; \u00a0look closely. \u00a0Look again. \u00a0 Try not to hurry. \u00a0The tree\u2019s buds will not storm into fresh growth like a brass band. \u00a0You hardly notice any change from day to day; but if you wait, new life will show up. \u00a0The Prophet Habakkuk teaches \u00a0 – – \u00a0\u201cFor the vision has its own time, presses on toward fulfillment. \u00a0If it delays, wait for it, for come it will, without fail.\u201d (Hab 2:3). \u00a0At a university committed to learning in our students, staff, and faculty, standing near a tree that begins this season looking dead makes a good short prayer, alive with surprises.<\/p>\n

Denise Levertov wrote a\u00a0poem I call one of my \u201ctop 5 lifetime,\u201d though there are many more than 5 of these. \u00a0 Dedicated this morning at the dawn of Lent, to everyone who stake her\/his hopes on the labors of love that thrive in a university – – \u00a0learning and teaching and mentoring and challenging.<\/p>\n

Best to read the poem out loud, with pauses, \u00a0twice.<\/p>\n

Blessings in this Lenten season.<\/p>\n

john st sj<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe Poem Rising By Its Own Weight\u201d
\n\u201cThe poet is at the disposal of his own night\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Jean Cocteau<\/p>\n

The singing robes fly onto your body and cling there silkily,
\nYou step out on the rope and move unfalteringly across it,
\nAnd seize the fiery knives unscathed and
\nKeep them spinning above you, a fountain
\nOf rhythmic rising, falling, rising
\nFlames,
\nAnd proudly let the chains
\nBe wound about you, ready
\nTo shed them, link by steel link,
\npadlock by padlock\u2013<\/p>\n

but when your graceful
\nconfident shrug and twist drives the metal
\ninto your flesh and the python grip of it tightens
\nand you see rust on the chains and blood in your pores
\nand you roll
\nover and down a steepness into a dark hole
\nand there is not even the sound of mockery in the distant air
\nsomewhere above you where the sky was,
\nno sound but your own breath panting:<\/p>\n

then it is that the miracle
\nwalks in, on his swift feet,
\ndown the precipice straight into the cave,
\nopens the locks,
\nknots of chain fall open,
\ntwists of chain unwind themselves,
\nlinks fall asunder,
\nin seconds there is a heap of scrap-
\nmetal at your ankles, you step free and at once
\nhe turns to go \u2014<\/p>\n

but as you catch at him with a cry,
\nclasping his knees, sobbing your gratitude,
\nwith what radiant joy he turns to you,
\nand raises you to your feet,
\nand strokes your disheveled hair,
\nand holds you,
\nholds you,
\nholds you
\nclose and tenderly before he vanishes.<\/p>\n

The Freeing of the Dust<\/u><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Denise Levertov\u00a0\u00a0(1923-1997)
\nhttps:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Denise_Levertov<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ash Wednesday, \u00a0 March 6, \u00a02019 \u00a0 – – > \u00a0\u201cLent\u201d \u00a0= \u00a0\u201cSpring\u201d Mardi Gras has come and gone, opening the Christian tradition to the season of prayer called \u201cLent.\u201d \u00a0That word has Anglo Saxon roots and means \u201cSpring,\u201d the\u00a0season … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2942"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2945,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942\/revisions\/2945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}