The Hurricane

The hours before Irene’s arrival were eerily quiet; I believe in the calm before the storm.

After so much worry and anxiety, it was as though nature was forcing us to rest before the big fight…. that she would win. And a poem came.

The Hurricane

Asleep, awaiting Irene,
dread drudged down deep
beneath a numbing calm.

Perhaps they’re wrong.
Perhaps she’ll pass us by.
Perhaps the storm of reckoning
is yet another day ….

Time, inscrutable time
races as slowly as death,
drawing incredibly near.

Irene will surely come
to claim her crown of victory
over mere mortals.

© E.M. Ramos 8/27/2011

Happily there was not much damage in our area. The media can sure make you crazy. Then again, it’s always wise to be prepared. As always, prayer helps. I kept thinking of the gospel of Jesus asleep in the boat and the apostles panicking. Help me, Lord!

Time to Slow Down

Here’s a poem my spiritual director shared with us.

A Lazy Thought

by Eve Merriam

There go the grownups
To the office,
To the store.
Subway rush,
Traffic crush;
Hurry, scurry,
Worry, flurry.

No wonder
Grownups
Don’t grow up
Any more.
It takes a lot
Of slow
To grow.

The other day I called a dear friend. She’s 97 years old. She complained of being so tired, so slow. Summer is for slowing down - it should be conducive to contemplation.

But it takes a lot of slow to grow, as the poem says. We want to go, go, go. So we can forget the pain of who we are - deep, deep down. Where the real “me” is waiting to become all she is meant to become. Waiting to be discovered and embraced.

It’s summer. Slow down. Be “useless” as Henri Nouwen says. Hang out with God. It’s slow time, like the old age time of life. Grow time.