On Retreat
by David Rensberger
David Rensberger lives near Atlanta, Georgia. He has written widely on topics relating to the Bible and Christian spirituality, and has published poetry in several journals. He continues to research and write, and to lead retreats and workshops, having retired from the classroom after thirty years teaching at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. rensberger@comcast.net
We, rank amateurs at silence, jingle,
shuffle feet, turn pages, scrape
a glass against a cupboard door.
Stilling down requires attention, noticing
the noises underneath our words,
like pebbles at the bottom of a brook,
whose babble, if it stopped, would leave
something that rattled all the same, and was
only now made known.
Outside the house,
I come across the experts at this practice, vigilant,
persistent, constant in their skill:
the trees, the ever-present soil, the fog.
David Rensberger lives near Atlanta, Georgia. He has written widely on topics relating to the Bible and Christian spirituality, and has published poetry in several journals. He continues to research and write, and to lead retreats and workshops, having retired from the classroom after thirty years teaching at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. rensberger@comcast.net
We, rank amateurs at silence, jingle,
shuffle feet, turn pages, scrape
a glass against a cupboard door.
Stilling down requires attention, noticing
the noises underneath our words,
like pebbles at the bottom of a brook,
whose babble, if it stopped, would leave
something that rattled all the same, and was
only now made known.
Outside the house,
I come across the experts at this practice, vigilant,
persistent, constant in their skill:
the trees, the ever-present soil, the fog.
