And when the day’s duties
conspire to exclude
the deep reflective pauses,
Spirit still seeps through

In the cooking, in the caring for an elder,
in the ready presence to consult, to listen,
through the low winter light
through clouds, through windows,
and the quick arc of a short day
with its long darknesses at the edges

Spirit seeps into consciousness
like tide rising
because it belongs there
and can’t be left out.

©Wendy Mulhern
December 12, 2016