Memorial of John of the Cross – a Haiku poem

Published on Updated on Contemplative Prayer, Doctor of the Church, Experiences of God, Haiku, John of the Cross, Poetry

I wrote this Haiku poem after an intense session of Contemplative Prayer.

 

NOTE. This poem breaks with the usual 5-7-5 structure of a Haiku poem.

 

I sit in the Chapel

My customary prayer time

I begin Sacred Reading

 

But God soon grants Inner Stillness

The “Prayer of Quiet”

So I stop reading

 

Sitting still

Not thinking or feeling

Awaiting a touch from God

 

Then my body feels blurry

It’s like I’m somewhere else now

Tumbling through time and space

 

With excruciating effort I open one eye

It’s already past time to quit

But it’s way too soon

 

Reconnecting soul to body

It takes minutes of gradual effort

‘Till the two become one again

 

I leave the Chapel

Peace and joy, strength and confidence

Longing for more of God

 

December 14, 2005

RESOURCES

Our John of the Cross homepage

 

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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.