April 12: Easter Lessons, Pandemic Lessons, Poem from "Kyrie"

Easter teaches us never to give up hope, even in the darkest hours.  After the tomb comes resurrection.  That is what I was taught as a young boy in catechism.

I have not always embraced the lessons of Easter in my life.  I'm a poet, which means that I'm supposed to turn to alcohol, not religion, when things seem bleak.  I've been thinking a lot about what kind of lessons this global pandemic is supposed to impart.  I haven't come up with any clear answers.

Certainly, I have learned how to wash my hands well.  And I've learned that hugging the wrong person can kill you.  Being an introvert is healthy.  Having a dog is a good excuse to go for a walk.  Being apart doesn't mean being disconnected, and being realistic can be misconstrued as being panicked.  Loving someone can sustain you, but it can also make you feel very alone.

Tonight, snow is falling on my part of the world.  A late season storm that will more than likely end in power outages and even more isolation in an isolated world.  Yet, I feel sustained this evening, after cooking a turkey dinner for my family and taking my puppy for a long, long walk.  Small things can save you from despair.

Someone helping you wash dishes.

A piece of chocolate in the middle of the night.

An arm reaching out to hold you in the dark.

The hum of the furnace.

A beautiful poem.

This is the lesson of Easter for me this year.  In the middle of a pandemic.

To never take any grace for granted.  And it's all grace.

Happy Easter from Saint Marty.

from Kyrie

by:  Ellen Bryant Voigt

O God, Thou hast cast us off, Thou has scattered us
     Thou hast been displeased, O turn to us again.
Thou hast made the earth to tremble; Thou has broken it;
     heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
Thou hast showed Thy people hard things; Thou hast made us
     to drink the wine of astonishment.

Surely He shall deliver us from the snare,
He shall cover us with His feathers, and under His wings,
     We shall not be afraid for the arrow by day
     nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness.
A thousand shall fall at our side, ten thousand shall fall,
     but it shall not come nigh us, no evil befall us,
Because He hath set His love upon us . . .

                                                  Here endeth the first lesson.