Action 5: Take five minutes of silence at noon

How long five minutes can be
when measuring it in teaspoons of silence.
Don't close my eyes;
too easy to sleep or daydream.
Don't focus on my watch,
and count the sluggardly minutes,
begrudging the lack of words.

Instead, be aware of light and shadow;
experience the fluttering breath of air
that stirs a leaf beyond the glass, that lifts
a wingspread bird toward a higher branch.
Be conscious of the March sun's warmth,
its bright quadrangles sprawled
across the wooden floor where lies the cat.
God is in these details,
speaking.

For my midday sustenance,
silence at noon.
Laid to rest is the discord of the day.
In the midst of these measured hours,
I am alpha and omega, situated
between past regret and future anxiety,
listening.

Like Samuel, Lord, here I am.


[Tomorrow: Action 6: Look out the window until you find something of beauty you had not noticed before.]