A Fine Distinction
What we are
not who we are
matters to the world.
Who we are
not what we are
matters when we leave it.
Monks in the Orchard Picking Peaches
Young monk
and old monk
in the orchard
picking peaches,
sunny and plump,
ready for canning.
Carrying bushels
to the wagon cart,
the young monk
asks the old monk
what to look out for
when growing old.
The old monk
pauses and says
not much.
Life stays the same
for the most part.
Monks work and pray
but an old monk
works slower and
prays faster.
But not to worry,
the old monk advises.
He admits he's
going deaf
but that's just
an inconvenience
since God uses
sign language.
Peaches like these
have no need to talk.
Good News Grips Midnight Phil
Phil doesn’t go to church
but after midnight he enjoys
watching preachers on TV
swing their bibles in the air,
march across the stage, yell
about the joys of heaven and
louder about the pains of hell.
He likes to see believers sing,
raise their arms and dance
in ecstasy down the aisles.
They might be on to something,
Midnight Phil thinks, clicking
his remote and wondering
if they could be right and if
they are, what about his bones.
Where will they lie after midnight.
Agnostic's Mystery
He looks for you until
you find him while you
wonder if he's there
Donal Mahoney spent two summers in his college years working side by side with monks at an abbey.
He was not cut out to be a monk but they were and influenced him greatly.