Posts Tagged ‘spirituality’

Aspects of Loneliness, No. 4

September 23, 2022

More than just a hello to a passerby,
A topic of conversation
Other than the weather.
Everyone is interesting
On a morning walk.
Even those who don’t respond.

So much to notice.
Dogs, young children,
A sports car being polished,
Contractors unloading materials,
A dug up front yard,
Yard sign proclaiming Black Lives Matter.

Overhead a swarm of men on a roof,
Hurrying to beat the rising sun’s rays.
Shingles float down to a dumpster
Like leaves.
Making room for the new.
Their job done.

A temptation to engage,
To comment, to converse.
Is speaking with stangers
Triggered by loneliness?
Or just a need to hear myself,
Alive and present, mindful.


©2022 Thomas W. Cummins

Aspects of Loneliness, No. 1

August 11, 2022


Something seems to be missing
There is an emptiness
But is it really empty?
Perhaps there is a presence
A presence that cannot be grasped
Something that is always there
Yet somehow missing
An emptiness
A longing
A longing that feels like loneliness

©2022 Thomas W. Cummins

Dancing On the Ceiling

May 7, 2022

Passing through leaves, sunlight

Sending breezy Japanese maple leaf shadows

Bouncing off a small, round glass table

Forming a bright circle

Dancing on the ceiling

Blessing the moment with Ps 46:10

Knowing All Will Be Well

© 2022 Thomas W. Cummins

I’ve never been me before

October 5, 2018

With the early morning fog
All was white-gray
Seeing nothing for more than 100 yards
Islands were not to be seen
Nor the far shore

Silence
Well, not quite
Soft, gentle movement heard
Water caressing the rock-strewn
Beach

I was thinking, for me,
This is a new experience
And certainly so
On this day, in this place
At this age

Who I am today is new
What I experience today is new
All I see and all I hear, new
The me of now
Has never existed before

I’ve never been this me before
I should be in awe of everything
Tired of nothing
Open to the grace
Of all things

©2018 Thomas W. Cummins

I was quite young

December 11, 2017

Going through boxes and boxes of stuff in preparation for downsizing during the next decade, or so.

I was quite young when I wrote this. Perhaps it was 55 years ago. Nevertheless, here it is

If I could choose

That missing something

July 29, 2017

Sitting at a table
Our group of eight
A crowded restaurant
An awareness
Of my not talking
Not listening
Gazing out the window

Feeling detached
Indifferent
An unknown
Unarticulated
Longing
For what?
That missing something

©2017 Thomas W. Cummins