On biscotti, COVID & incarnation | Waiting Still Day 15
On biscotti, COVID & incarnation
Day Fifteen | Waiting Still
My sister-in-law brought over
some homemade biscotti
the other day
Delicious! Thanks, Lolo
This morning I had to eat some
because my mind so doubted my body
Even after sipping half the cup
I was still talking myself out of taste
(Oh shit, is this COVID?)
Now, I’ll admit
it was pre-ground drip coffee
Not measured, just eye-balled in the dark
I’ll get the hand grinder and pour over out
when this quiet time
before the drama of dressing for school
(I thank you, Creator, for the drama, I do)
is not so brief
Still, the coffee on these mornings isn’t bad
But there I was
Wondering
Warm liquid on my molars
and the side of my tongue
Was I picking up any flavor at all?
The biscotti’s
sweet salty
fennel and roasted almond
reassured me
my taste was still with me
(Thank you, Creator, again)
And later, when I warmed my cup
I tasted notes of cherry
But those first sips…
I’m not surprised I doubted
Not surprised I questioned my experience
This is where empire and enlightenment
and the body-shame of the broken parts of church
have left us
Overthinking and under-appreciating
the body
Living life in conceptual caverns
outside our skin
Doubting even disdaining
Our home of
organ and muscle, ligament and bone
Forgive me, Body
for this doubt and neglect
Thank you, hairy skin, bald head
and soft belly for your patience
•
My prayers these days
have increasingly become
dance, movement and breath
I’m coming down from
an anxious ethereal
to a fleshy and often tight
embodied home
Early Christians
and the ones who
over the centuries stayed
true to the margins
They’ve kept the core
of Christ’s teaching
The goodness, inherent worth
the miracle of the Body
Home of the Divine
Not to be doubted
but cherished
Revered
Inhabited so completely
•
I will take a breath
Love these Lungs
I will take another sip
Love this Tongue
this Water and Bean, Soil and Sun
And staring
Love these Eyes
at the oaks
gray in the blue
steely fog
I will say thank you
Thank you, Body
Divine Gift and Home
I’m sorry I doubted You
To which my Body will respond
Shh, Come here
