All day long, the snow fell,
Softly, quietly; you couldn’t hear —
When your eyes were closed.
All the next day, we shoveled;
The mail was undelivered.
Could we hope for it the next day?
Or the next?
Yes, after dark the mail truck came,
One day, or two; some hours late,
Bringing news, and things to read;
The carrier freezing in his truck.
(But I’m hoping not –.
Do they wear electric suits,
Like astronomers, watching distant stars?}
I trudged out to get the mail,
And sorting it, found it not all ours.
Four pieces each, for neighbors next –
Should I venture out to deliver the rest?
Perhaps foolishly — yes, I went.
And on the way, looked to my left.
Two deer stood silently, watching me.
In the silence, dark, and cold,
We watched each other, warily.
Some days we see the animal tracks,
And even trails, worn in the snow.
Squirrels, birds, and chipmunks, too —
Deer and rabbits have passed through.
And today, with sun on snow,
A flash of red in bush does show.
A cardinal has come to eat
Some seeds I set out for a treat.
A rabbit came to our porch, too.
He tried some parsley, grass –
But few, the blades that he had picked to chew.
So blessed we are, with all these creatures,
God, through nature, a constant teacher.
clarakatalin 
There Is Nothing …
In a recent Sunday homily, the priest stated, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you less.” Perhaps superfluously, I might restate what he said like this: “There is nothing [bad] you can do to make God love you less, [and there’s nothing good you can do to make Him love you more.]
The priest went on to say something like, “It is we who turn from God, not He from us. We’re afraid to come to Him after we’ve sinned, but He’s waiting for us with open arms. He wants us back.”
What is our response to such a love? It might be fear, grateful acceptance, or something else. Fear, because that kind of love might demand something of us that we’re not willing to give — perhaps letting go of our anger, unforgiveness, blaming others, bad habits, etc. Or, in realizing the immensity of that kind of love that no human can give us, an overwhelming gratitude that responds by giving to and serving others — and yes, letting go.
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