in the shadow of war

I pause to ponder

just how far we are from

the blissful state of Eden,

Eden where shame did not stalk the streets,

nor grasp for power,

where there was harmony

between the creator and the created,

and all was well,

is this the deepest longing of our hearts,

the longing that we try to fill with many insufficient things?

and does our longing simply echo the divine longing

of the one whose finder prints we bear

in this dust born bodies,

the one whose breath enlivens us,

who gives us our being,

a gift…. ?

Perhaps this Lent we will re-engage with our deepest truth,

we were not made for shame,

we were not made for unequal power,

but for life and love,

so, how do we choose life

in the shadow of war?