From The Hand Of God

Our souls praise the Lord,
   for he is our help and our protector,
for our hearts rejoice in him,
  and we trust in his holy name.
Lord, show us your loving kindness,
   just as we put our hope in you.

                                              Psalm 33

                                                                                         Photos by C. Scodova

                                                                  The honeysuckle
                                                                  are rising
                                                                  up
                                                                  the scales
                                                                  of morning,

                                                                  playing their
                                                                  fragrant-bright
                                                                  beauty
                                                                  into the psalms
                                                                  of the air.

                                                                  They come
                                                                  uninvited
                                                                  each spring,
                                                                  hunching over
                                                                  the porch railing,

                                                                  fingering
                                                                  the cups and saucers
                                                                  of light;
                                                      
                                                                  spilling their satchels
                                                                  of perfume
                                                                  onto the tables
                                                                  of air--
                                                                 
                                                                  and who needs invitation
                                                                  between old friends?

                                                                  What better to reel us in
                                                                  from the deafening
                                                                  loneliness
                                                                  of pain
                                                                  and loss

                                                                  than these
                                                                  saffron-tongued
                                                                  singers
                                                                  from the hand
                                                                  of God?