Kindled

By Glenn Mitchell

Cordwood is stacked 

On the porch,

Split and dried,

Ready

For the kindling,

Splinters of oak, 

Ready 

For the match,

And me 

Wondering,

Am I ready

For the season

At hand?

I notice 

I’m not eager.

As I journey beneath

My lack of enthusiasm,

I find some semblance of readiness,

And beneath my reluctant readiness,

A certain willingness.

And somewhere, 

At the bottom of the pile,

On my inner porch, 

Where my soul sits reclined,

I come to a small spark

Of gratitude.

I shield it with hands 

Cupped over my heart

Against the ravages of wind

And pray that it is enough,

That I am enough,

That what is small and vulnerable

Can be enough,

To get something going

To light my path.

And I pray 

That our tiny sparks

Held together

In the gathering of our lives

Might be enough 

To rekindle community and

Reimagine our humanity

For this new day.

I pray that gratitude

No matter how small

Is precisely the matter needed

For us to find a way

To kindle a fire

That can sustain us.

Love and Peace, Glenn

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Glenn Mitchell is happily practicing retirement and spiritual direction outside of Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife and TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania Director, Theresa Shay. Glenn enjoys attending the mystery overflowing around him, making things from wood, renovating old buildings, tending the garden, making bread, and sitting in silence.

Glenn’s regular writing of PrayerNotes from the Homestead can be found here: https://glennmitchell.substack.com.  Glenn can be reached at glenn@likeafeather.com.