One Moment When

One Moment When

(“Let me dwell in Your tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.” Psalm 61:4)

Now on fire, later quenched by rain,
expecting on thing and finding another again.
Finally, at the end of one day out of 18,000
air and dust collide, light and depth align,
clouds exercise restraint, the skies glow invisible paint,
heat rises, sounds and buzzes hold back their breath for
one moment when

Like the hub of a carousel, straight forward and peripheral
are stopped. Motion, time’s stopwatch, holds back the next moment
like the explosive silence just before a belly laugh.

Somehow, on that one day in the 60^th year; one moment, an uncertain division of 1/60^th of a minute: Mute and Fire

have met the desire of a single man’s hopes until now.

Suspend me above the measured days, O Lord,
let me see fuller than my gaze. Let me rest,
where pain cannot reach. Take the spin off everything,
heal the bruises friends that were kisses, and hold the doors open
long enough
that I can show up for
one moment when

Like the hub of the universe, the sky is a jigsaw piece, and
silence is the explosive moment when angels are taking a breath.