Noise

After Hebrews 12:1-3

It’s the noise I’m most

conscious of, the noise

of voices, thousands,

murmurs becoming shouts

as the starting gun is fired,

as we begin the run

my throat feels the cinders

of the track, dry and sharp,

my legs move, a motion

both visible and not,

a motion of muscles

and bone flowing

with the motion of the heart

and soul, moving together,

a torrent of silence crashing

against the noise, the murmurs,

the shouts as we run.

Photograph by Rostislav Kralik via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

Saturday Good Reads

Since the time I first heard it in high school, I always liked the sound of the name “Venerable Bede.” He was a monk in England who wrote a history of the church in 731 A.D., and he is actually venerated by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church. Malcolm Guite has written a delightful sonnet about him.

Does the church consider people expendable? Read Ed Cyzewski’s post on it. Ever wonder what happened to Queen Susan in The Chronicles of Narnia? Matthew Alderman at First Things has an answer. Mick Silva puts his finger on the No. 1 writing problem, and how to fix it. And an insightful article at The New York Times on corporate America’s fixation on the millennial – a mythical creation.

And a wonderful video on the known universe from the American Museum of Natural History.

Life and Culture

In Praise of the Purposeless Ramble – Chris Yokel.

Corporate America Chases the Mythical Millennial – Farhad Manjoo at The New York Times.

Faith

People Are Expendable: My Root Struggle with the Church – Ed Cyzewski.

Why Community is Dangerous: An Interview with Stanley Hauerwas – Plough Magazine.

People of No Religion Outnumber Christians in Wales and England – The Guardian.

Whatever Happened to Susan Pevensie? – Matthew Alderman at First Things.

Art and Photography

How to Read a Renaissance Painting – Lucy Chiswell at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Ice and Fire – Tim Good at Fine Art America.

Gustave Dore’s “The Burial of Sarah” – An Epic in a Single Frame – Russ Ramsey at The Rabbit Room.

Poetry

Sun Day – Jerry Barrett at Gerald the Writer.

Theophilus Kewk – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

“Neruda” the Film – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

“The Lily-Light I’ve Been Given” – Introducing Poet J.L. Jacobs – Lara at Girls in a Tight Place.

A sonnet for the Venerable Bede – Malcolm Guite.

Writing

The Backside Blessings of Blogging – Barry York at Gentle Reformation.

The #1 Writing Problem I See – and How to Fix It – Mick Silva.

The Known Universe – American Museum of Natural History

Painting: Quentin Bell Reading, oil on canvas by Vanessa Bell; 1936-1938; Monk’s House, Rodmell, East Sussex.

Clouds

After Hebrews 12:1-3

The stadium: a mist,

clouds surrounding the track,

clouds of eyes, watching,

supporting, hoping,

clouds there for the race.

The few on the track,

ready for what is marked

out, ovals in circular motion,

white lines, cinders burnt red.

We run; the clouds watch;

we run towards the tape,

we trip and fall,

we get up,

we run, we’re injured,

we get up,

the race is not timed,

no victory to the first,

the victory comes

in running the race.

The clouds of eyes watch

the clouds will soon clear.

Photograph by Peter Griffin via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.