“in the beginning”

hush.

a story has begun.

 

(not a list

not a prescription

not an exact way for things to be done

 

and who am i

to try and change

this story to a list?

of things that i need to do, become;

why do I insist

that rules would be easier,

safer, perhaps?

a world in black and white

where shadow cannot lapse?

 

A world with lines declared,

where everything is clear,

but this is not the truth,

not even near.

 

Lists will stifle

and corral

and box in

so that you know exactly

what you’re doing

and when.

 

but stories are like smoke,

curling as they grow,

and you can’t be just sure

where they’re going to go.

 

and love is a story,

spiraling around,

unable to be tamed,

always coming unwound,

 

and it’s made up of words

(the same substance of a list!),

but instead of saying what needs to be done

it calls us to come and rest

 

it says that there is hope

that we’re part of something bigger

that God is working in our lives

no matter how bitter

or tired

or unhappy we are.

God is working still.

 

and we’re invited to join

in the story and the love

in the final admission

that our lists are not enough

to convey all that we could or should or would do,

but God’s presence overpowers

and asks us to try

something new:

 

to love

and be loved;

that’s what we can choose.)