Readers Respond: Light
Readers Respond is a series where Vita Poetica readers write in about their reflections and practices on the current theme. Read more about the next theme and how to submit below.
I was thinking about God's creation this week driving around southern Oklahoma "leaf peeping" at all of the fall colors that I can't capture on paper in its true beauty. While picking up some pecans near a forest, I was thinking of God's many blessings.
Blessings surround me
on a daily basis.
The light in the forest
filters through the trees,
with a spiritual connection.
I know I'm not alone.
The Lord sends comfort in many ways.
My thoughts are calmed in the quietness,
as I contemplate His many gifts.”— Mary Bone (Wilson, OK)
In late fall and winter, the sun sets just as I’m finishing my work day. I slowly become aware that the room is glowing—wood floors, lamp shade, white wing-back chair—and darkening at the same time in the vesper light. I get up, walk to the west-facing window, and take a few deep breaths. The bare trees stand black against the cold orange sky. My neighborhood dims to blue. I repeat the Phos Hilaron prayer from The Book of Common Prayer, the earliest known extra-biblical hymn that is still in use today:
“O gracious Light, pure brightness of the ever-living Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified through all the worlds. Amen.”
— Rachel E. Hicks (Baltimore, MD)
Rachel has previously published poetry in Vita Poetica.
The colder months have meant bringing my plants indoors and trying to find places where they can get the sunlight they need. I find that taking care of plants–or any living thing–can feel like a kind of prayer. It represents, for me, a commitment to Creation (or at least a few square inches of it) and there is joy to be found in chasing the limited light that slips over the trees and into my apartment.
— Samir Knego (Chapel Hill, NC)
For the next issue we’d like to hear about your practices associated with the theme of break/breaking. We encourage you to interpret this broadly! Some ideas include:
Food practices or recipes related to breaking bread or breaking a fast.
Journal prompts to process the brokenness in the world around us.
Mindfulness practices to cope with heartbreak.
A quick creative practice you can do at your desk to break up the monotony of a long workday.
If you have practices to share (or themes you’d like to propose for future editions of the Readers Respond series) please fill out this quick form.
