Every once in a while I receive a hand-written card or message that’s been sent snail mail to the Archdiocese of LA/Angelus News.
One such note came recently, in the form of a poem, written in response to my recent Desire Lines post.
As you can see, the verse is quite beautiful, and I think captures my zeitgeist perfectly. The author gave his permission to share, so here it is, with deep thanks.
DESIRE PATHS
For Heather King
They wait for us in noisy cities,
nudging us along lanes and alleyways;
they dally in our brains,
uncharted channels,
shortcuts to fresh expression,
unblazed, less taken ways
that just might become
roads reaching to infinity.
Instinct instructs our feet and legs;
urging words to take a journey
toward some lucky page,
seeking, daring to be born
into ink and onto paper.
Unsculpted city sidewalks,
unsketched pavement paths
blazed by sudden motivation
and the joy of going further on.
Poems constructed by discovery
out of freedom, fresh air, prayers
and the novelty of spending moments
in unlikely places where metro trains
roll by clattering and whistling
on tracks that wander wide.
All conspiring without a plan,
unmapped siren channels
through a city at your feet.
–Bob Doud//12/03/2020
Just lovely!!!
Happy New Year, Betty!
Your desire lines is such an interesting and powerful post. Years back I desired to be a writer, penned (typed) several novels myself traveling through my own challenges, past, and mysteries. But the world invaded and I went “back to work.” Now I create stories in virtual reality spaces with my students. But I long to go back to the creative. Maybe my desire lines will mesh by longing to communicate with my skills in the tech world of imagination and avatars. God must have had a reason for guiding me into these paths so that I can weave them into a story about His new worlds and opportunities. Thank you for rekindling my desire to weave my own path, with hopes that some day others will follow.
Wonderful, Eileen…that’s right, we never know when those desire lines will intersect, re-weave themselves, rekindle….how beautiful that you create stories in virtual reality with your students. Thanks for the solidarity.
Thank you writers.
I’d like to share the writing on the cover of a Funeral Mass memorial :
Born into earthly life…(date)
Born into eternal life…(date)
Ooooh, I like that…not the end of life, but entry into a new one…Happy New Year, Meg.