[Like the counting of angels]
Like the counting of angels
August 1, 2001
who dance on a pin
we argue if heaven's
outside or within.
Or if faith is needed
to live our lives well --
as if spiritual truth
were something to sell.
But outside my window
a cardinal sings free,
and from his tree branch
grants perspective to me --
for it's not with our words
that we speak what is true,
but with bodies and hearts
in the things that we do.
So if others desire
to strip flesh from the soul,
I'll no longer quibble
but think of Thoreau
and of how his fine humor
bequeathed him a grace
that no controversy
could ever efface.
And so, my good friends,
please enjoy your debate
but I'll have to depart
for I've verse to create. :-)
Copyright © Amy Belding Brown