A New Day: A Poem for Easter 2024
by The Office
A New Day is a poem for Easter at Living Table written by Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe.
A New Day
the cold, dark beginning
would lead me to believe
that this day is like any other
without fanfare the sun slips
over the horizon and tints
the sky with fire
announcing the morning
as it has done for more days
than we can count or know
early birds sing their
raucous songs as if snow
weren’t piled in every corner
awakening in me
something long-dormant
or hibernating for more
than one winter
headlines of war and violence
arguing politicians and
fear-mongering tyrants
along with rising ocean
temperature and tides
and the return of ancient lakes
while drought shrinks
water tables
and the voices of those who
thirst and hunger and shiver
in the cold cry out
unacknowledged by so many who
claim to follow in the way of Love
these are urgent and unsettling
conditions, gaining in power
and victims by the hour
yet, today, unexpected echoes
respond to the silence of the sunrise
the whispers of the wild winds
even the overly enthusiastic bird songs
of this early morning
reverberate through me
push hope into my center
for no good reason
nothing has changed
except everything has
today I separate myself anew
(and again)
from the pull of a tomb emptied
long ago
I choose to move away from
the addictive, hypnotic attraction
to fear that feeds the oppressive
goals of Empire
and starves into extinction
our need for relationship
community
interconnection
and unity
this is a new day
a day of resurrection
a day of Hope’s return
a day in which I remember
and reclaim the call
to love my neighbor
as myself
leave behind the lies
of oppression
redraw the margins at the center
and push away false divisions
manipulative violence
and greedy wars
who knew silence disrupted by
birds heralding a new day
(birds who are perhaps distant cousins
of the dove who drew attention
to the Beloved One)
had the power to make
Resurrection real?
About The Office
Posts from the office are composed by church staff and leadership at Living Table United Church of Christ in Minneapolis, on behalf of the church membership.
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