It usually starts taking shape
from one word
reveals itself in one smile
sometimes in the blue glint of eyeglasses
in a trampled daisy
in a splash of light on a path
in quivering carrot leaves
in a bunch of parsley
It comes from laundry hung on a balcony
From hands thrust into dough
It seeps through closed eyelids
as through the prison wall of things of objects
of faces of landscapes
It’s when you slice bread
when you pour out some tea
It comes from a broom from a shopping bag
from peeling new potatoes
from a drop of blood from the prick of a needle
when making panties for a child
or sewing a button on a husband’s burial shirt
It comes out of toil of care
out of immense fatigue in the evening
out of a tear wiped away
out of a prayer broken off in mid-word by
sleep
It’s not from the grand
but from every tiny thing
that it grows enormous
as if Someone was building Eternity
as a swallow its nest
out of clumps of moments
Small Things by Anna Kamenska (Polish, 1920-1986)
A selection from the chapter, In the Stillness, from At the Still Point by Sarah Arthur. I’m giving away two copies to two lucky people on Sunday if you leave a comment here.
Just as each bud on this single Hydrangea bush in my front yard unfurls to form a kalidescope of color, may we open the beauty of Christ to the watching world. Each petal of who we are forming clumps of moments that build an eternal home.
Happy Saturday Friends!
Oh, this takes my breath away.
Seems I’m always losing my breath here. 🙂
I have a real heart for hydrangeas. So beautiful. And your beautiful word-sharing is beautiful, too. [As usual. You have a very heart-gift of spreading the Word, in one form or another, but always drawing Him closer.]
To God be the glory for that Joanne. Not just being trite, I mean it.
You’ve woven so much beauty through your words and photos.
Oh, Shelly – this is gorgeous! I have this book somewhere. Now to find it and READ IT. And I love your pictures -especially the light shining through the back of those pale pink ones. To die for. Thank you!
Thanks Diana. I know what you mean about books. I have so many and not enough time to read them all. It’s always fun to re-visit great works like this one.
…… and mine too. My heart skips a beat. The poignant descriptions of the ordinary things, spanning into bigness with LOVE like a necklace of Jasmine.
……. hmmmnnn, lovely. God’s love is the string that binds.
One thing more before I leave,
Thank you for the joys I find here in your spot. I love to collect thought in my heart. They are like gold in the grit to me……… so much joy in the small things, small packages, the overlooked spot, off the beaten track, and in less traveled roads.
Thank you, you refresh my soul with words…… and I thank God for you.
Thanking God for you too my dear friend. It’s always a joy to find your here.
You keep picking my favorites from the book 🙂 Have you read Peace Like A River? There is a excerpt from the novel in At the Still Point. Loved it and good summer read.
My hydrangeas have been incredible this year. I think because we had a mild winter. They need a pruning before vacation so the new growth will blossom beauty next year. I have a beautiful lace cap in the back. I have loved it’s progression over the past few weeks. So beautiful.
I haven’t read that one, I will have to check it out Dea. Thanks for the recommendation. I actually only have one hydrangea bush but they are my favorite. I planted it last year and this year the blooms are all differnt colors and profuse.
LOVE this, Shelly…the photos, the prose. Perfectly stunning.
Thanks Patricia, that means alot coming from the photographer extraordinaire!
Read this in my email this weekend. thoroughly enjoyed it. and today, it’s still with me. need to add this book to my list of must-reads I think! Beautiful as always, friend. thank you!
I know, that poem hung with me for weeks too Nikki. So simple, but so profound. I think you will like that book. It seems we enjoy similar literature. Wish you would’ve won it! 🙂