Morning prayers said

Slow gentle walk in the

Rolling hills overlooking

Glistening lake, a jewel in

Mountain setting

He overtook me on the 

Narrow road, but slowed to

Offer a greeting

Something different

Something real, strong, tender

Compassionate eyes of wisdom

Without thinking, I am pouring

Out innermost thoughts and 

Family secrets, infantile fears

To this stranger

He bids me walk with him

Listening deeply, attentively

Affirmingly

Why do I take the easy roads?

Why do I play the chameleon?

What dark secrets am I afraid to face?

What trauma lies hidden in the past?

From whence came this narcissism?

This hubris, this need to be more?

Why do I feel like a phony, a fake?

Who am I really?

We rest for the night

He builds a fire and opens his satchel

To break and share flatbread and

Wine from an aged wineskin

The music of the spheres is in his eyes

Swirling planets, exploding nova

Quasars pulse and colors dance as

I drift into sleep and dream of 

Floating amongst the stars 

Now sailing on aqua seas with

Sparkles of amethyst as whales play

Albatross swoops, flying fish skim

To a golden isle where finches sing

I awaken to the smell of fish cooking

On a campfire and soon 

Our journey continues

On towards the Jordan 

Deep in the valley below 

A crowd has gathered

I can see them from a distance

On the shore, some in the water

Having changed their minds

About their own needs and futures

Washed in the baptismal stream

He bids me wait as he wades in to be

Baptized over the objections of the

Baptizer 

The heavens split

Is it thunder speaking?

The common words 

I spoke at the birth of my son

This is my beloved son 

In whom I am well pleased

Adopted, accepted, affirmed

Then a dove …

A dove, the sacrifice of the poorest,

Gently settles on his shoulder, cooing

Something unseen compels him to leave now

I feel alone and lost, but 

Before he goes off into the rugged

Wilderness, he pauses, caresses my cheeks

With his palms, looks deeply into my eyes

And gently says, 

I know