A Memorable Moment in Maui

Of the many wonderful memories I will carry away from our ten day get away to beautiful Maui, probably the most vivid happened one morning as I was taking a long quiet walk along the beach. I happened to look out toward the horizon and saw a school of dolphins passing by. One in particular jumped out of the water and spun around like an Olympic diver.  I waited, hoping for another performance....And then it did it again!

As you might imagine, I thought to capture the moment in a sonnet (with a coda).  It is still a work in progress. It is called Leap for Leaping's Love.

White-creased blue Pacific under summer blue sky

   white-fleeced strafed with clouds by. I, wading

   in the slipping surf.  And pointing there, parading

coast off along, playing coolly small school of spry

dolphins, five in all, dorsals slicing through high

   seas like easy pirates, laughing and evading

   all the camera scramblers, those too busy sun-bathing,

up and under, up under and passing by.

One leapt out!  Full out and sun skimmed

   off her skin as she complete spin

      all-air-torpedo-turned, tight-twist turned

down splashed white spray scaling the row-rimmed

   wave spaces. Erased from view.  Gone.  She leapt again!

      In the aerial encore sheer exuberance burned!

Burning life-joy free and unconstrained.

   Here no zoo fish feeding.  Leap for leaping's love.  This same,

      could I, murky ocean tugging at my ankles, learn?

Today I had a rich time worshipping at Grace Bible Church in Pleasant Hill.  Tomorrow we head off to Minnesota for Susan's family reunion, and then it is off to Wales.

I think of you all with great affection!

Phase One Comes To A Marvelous End

The first phase of my sabbatical comes to an end today.  This phase was the quiet home front phase.  The kids were finishing school, and I had a lot of time to write, reflect, read, and enjoy being home without the usual pressures of our busy lives.  

I finished the first draft of my big poem project called The Cast.  It is a 40 stanza poem that features 38 characters from the Bible and culminates in Jesus.  It is a creative way of telling the whole story of God's great redemption for the cosmos.  I have included a commentary section that gives insight into the many Biblical allusions and some of the denser lines.  I will now spend the rest of the summer editing it and preparing it for printing.

I have also made great strides in a collection of poetry featuring my favorite old poems and a bunch of poems written in the last year.  This chapbook is called Clock Hands Never Catching.  I will continue to revise the poems in the book, and add new ones, as the summer progresses.  I hope to also print this little book at the end of the summer.

Oh, I am having too much fun.

The next phase of the sabbatical begins tomorrow.  We head as a family to Hawaii for 10 days. Then we are off on a road trip to Minnesota where we will have a family reunion.  From Minneapolis I will fly to Wales to begin my solo two-week adventure following the historic trail of my favorite poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.  I am planning on chronicling my journey in a poetic format, using the structure of Hopkin's greatest poem The Wreck of the Deutschland.  I plan on calling this piece Following Hopkins. (Imagine that!)

Back from Wales, we will head up for a few weeks in Washington to finish out the sabbatical season.

During these days I am also playing with an old idea--that of taking Christina Rossetti's famous poem The Goblin Market and adapting it as a musical for the stage.  I have always felt this particular piece might make for a fantastic, artistic portrayal of the Gospel.

I am reading a lot of Hopkins and about Hopkins these days.  In addition, I am reading the first novel in the Mitford series.  I am slogging through a tough book that is reflecting on theology and art.  It is called Real Presences by George Steiner.

I have visited my brother's church in Vallejo, attended mass at Christ the King Church in Pleasant Hill, walked the trails around the Briones Reservoir, and participated in a surprise 50th Anniversary party for my folks.

The unhurried time with my family is an inexpressible gift.  

Blessings to you all, whoever might be reading these tinkerings.  I saw the new church directory today, and it reminded me what a rare and beloved bunch you all are!  It will be sweet to be with you again at the end of the summer.  But for now, this time away too is a rare sweetness.

Until next post.