Third Haven Meeting
Sitting in the old meeting
house
I notice…
there are no screens on the
windows;
nothing to keep out the light.
No mesh, no distortion, no
filter,
only the clear, clean openness
to the Light.
Sounds of birds whispering,
bees buzzing
children laughing;
all sounds come in freely.
Restless feet,
a cough, a sigh
a rising to speak.
Occasional sirens,
an airplane overhead.
Then silence.
A hush so deep
it is unknowable
like the space between
the in-breath and the
out-breath,
The mystery of
the Oneness.
Katherine Johnson June 11, 2007
before new year
the December sunset is an Amish quilt:
patchwork & cross stitched in
lavender, ivory and powder blue
spreading its quiet hymn across
the mammoth rocks of Great Falls
The canyon walls trace silhouettes
in grey, mirroring the tired man within.
There's only one sabbath breath left now
before the turning
yet even here
beside the old towpath of the C & O canal
the great blue heron still fishes
in winter
~ Alexander Levering Kern
With a Tender Hand
"Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying one for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand."
Isaac Pennington, 1667
Friends' Heritage
In a lovely peaceful setting
Stands a Church of simple lines
Where the Quakers gather Sundays
To commune in silent minds
There they feel a peace prevading
Far removed from tangled marts
In communion with each other
Love surrounding all imparts
No stained windows - rhododendron
Rustle on the outside pane
Whisper to the inner stillness
"Ye are gathered in His name"
There, no pastor in the apex
Leans to hear no organ's chord
Silence penetrates the Meeting
As the Quakers meet the Lord
Dogwoods quiver in the sunlight
Carry symbols of the Cross
Saying to the simple service
Follow Him or all is lost
Old Oaks bow in benediction
And forever keep the guard
Over all the absent members
Sleeping in the old churchyard
Nature gives the invocation
Through the trilling of a bird
And the little congregation
Hears the meaning of the Word
This, the heritage Friends must follow
Handed down from long ago
Holding that the silent worship
Makes the inner Spirit glow
Bessie T. Claggett
Easton , Maryland
October 23, 1960
Love's Light
The night may surround with breathless dark
And no candle lights the way
The winter wind may surround with numbing cold
And no logs blaze on the hearth
But I do not doubt the candle
I can not doubt the flame I do not see
And I do not doubt the log
I will not doubt the warmth I do not feel
I can not see nor can feel it
But I know within, it is there.
Helen Womack
Listen to the exhortation of the dawn
“Listen to the exhortation of the dawn.
Look to this day, for it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence;
the bliss of growth,
the glory of action,
the splendor of beauty.
For yesterday is but a dream
and tomorrow is only a vision,
but today,
well lived,
makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day.
Such is the salutation of the dawn.”
Kalidasa
Indian Sanskrit poet and dramatist, 5th century ad
Contributed by Robert Marshall
I've been to the mountain top
“I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountain top. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Contributed by Robert Marshall
The Most Difficult Task
“For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.”
“Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
Ranier Maria Rilke
Contributed by Robert Marshall
