January 15: "From a Railing," Tugboat, Sunrise

Billy Collins watches some boats. . . .

From a Railing

by:  Billy Collins

A long barge

with a helpful

tugboat alongside

pushing parts

of the East River away 

on their way somewhere.

This post will be very short, like Collins' poem.  Sometimes, an image simply speaks for itself--in this case, the barge and tugboat on the East River.  It's probably a scene that Collins has witnessed many times.  Nothing profound or earthshattering.  

I had a friend who knew how to make ordinary things (like barges and tugboats) into great gifts. Her name was Helen, and today would have been her birthday.  So I decided to do something very Helen-esque this morning:  I drove to Lake Superior and watched the sunrise. 

A fair amount of my disciples who read this blog knew/knew of Helen.  She was a joyful force of nature.  Creative.  Artistic.  Spiritual.  A friend to everyone, literally.  If you needed a tugboat to pull your barge, Helen would be that tugboat.  Like Martin Luther King (whose life we commemorate and celebrate today), Helen loved dreaming of ways to make the universe a better, kinder place, too--through art or writing or yoga or food or films or hiking.  

So, as Saint Marty watched the sun emerge over the big waters this morning, he gave thanks for Helen.  For her light.  For her beauty.  For all of the times she was the tugboat in his life.