Unity

*** Revised Common Lectionary *** Lectionary Reading: John 17:20-26 CLASSIC POEM: Unity Alfred Noyes I. Heart of my heart, the world is young; Love lies hidden in every rose! Every song that the skylark sung Once, we thought, must come to a close: Now we know the spirit of song, Song that is merged in the chant of the whole, Hand in hand as we wander along, What should we doubt of the years that roll? II. Heart of my heart, we cannot die! Love triumphant in flower and tree, Every life that laughs at the sky Tells us nothing can cease to be: One, we are one with the song to-day, One with the clover that scents the world, One with the Unknown, far away, One with the stars, when earth grows old. III. Heart of my heart, we are one with the wind, One with the clouds that are whirled o’er the lea, One in many, O broken and blind, One as the waves are at one with the sea! Ay! When life seems scattered apart, Darkens, ends as a tale that is told, One, we are one, O heart of my heart, One, still one, while the world grows old. *** This poem is in the public domain, and may be read in a live-streamed worship service. CONTEMPORARY POEM: Unity Pablo Neruda SNIPPET: There is something dense, united, settled in the depths, repeating its number, its identical sign. How it is noted that stones have touched time, in their refined matter there is an odor of age, of water brought by the sea, from salt and sleep. … [ READ THE FULL POEM ]