Saturday, October 06, 2007

Shedding

A day without food. A night without sleep
in the dark, praying, walking in circles
circles piled on one another
like the coils of a shedding snake.
Sliding and rubbing, stripping and sloughing
flakes of accumulated grudge
scales of thoughtless habit
shreds of the skin that grows on the unaware heart.
Last of all--
the clouded scales over the eyes peel away
and I face the dawn with clear sight
and the touch of the world on new and tender skin
feels like the touch of God.

If you like poetry, check out the weekly prompt site at Totally Optional Prompts

6 comments:

Jo said...

The parallel between reconnecting with God through fasting and prayer and sloughing off old skin is beautifully drawn. A fine renewal.

Jo said...

The parallel between reconnecting with God through fasting and prayer and sloughing off old skin is beautifully drawn. A fine renewal.

Anonymous said...

Interesting idea of prayers shedding in walking circles. I like this very much.

Rose

xo

Tumblewords: said...

Ah, yes. The shedding before...great post!

paisley said...

lovely as always.....

Anonymous said...

Love what you have done here. Prayer and fasting are connected to renewal= but you have presented that connection in a very original way.

The piece I wrote is also about new skin - though in a different way from yours. But they both say something about renewal