The Wilderness

*** Narrative Lectionary *** Lectionary Reading: Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29 CLASSIC POEM: The Wilderness Emily Dickinson I came too late to the hills: they were swept bare Winters before I was born of song and story, Of spell or speech with power of oracle or invocation, The great ash long dead by a roofless house, its branches rotten, The voice of the crows an inarticulate cry, And from the wells and springs the holy water ebbed away. A child I ran in the wind on a withered moor Crying out after those great presences who were not there, Long lost in the forgetfulness of the forgotten. Only the archaic forms themselves could tell! In sacred speech of hoodie on gray stone, or hawk in air, Of Eden where the lonely rowan bends over the dark pool. Yet I have glimpsed the bright mountain behind the mountain, Knowledge under the leaves, tasted the bitter berries red, Drunk water cold and clear from an inexhaustible hidden fountain. *** This poem is in the public domain, and may be read in a live-streamed worship service. CONTEMPORARY POEM: Miriam: The Red Sea Muriel Rukeyster SNIPPET: High above shores and times, I on the shore forever and ever. … [ READ THE FULL POEM ]