Editor’s note: During the month of ‘Ala’ a handful of writers collaborate to share one work for each day of the Fast.
Time Was
Before the sun
Maybe even before breath
Underwater.
By the time my feebleness
entered the picture,
Oxygen, water and breath
were essential.
Fundamental to humility
Remembering that emptiness
That whole and holiness
Before the sun, before the moon
Before food, before breath.
Now to remember those times
we are asked to Fast, to lengthen
the spaces we require from
earthly entanglements, the seductions
that push against the free float we
once enjoyed, buoyed by needlessness.
Before the sun, before the moon
Before food, before breath.
We must take measure, we must draw
pleasure from the pulse of prayer
the plentitude of gracious providence.
And set no limit to its duration
Find that endless time
Before the sun, before the moon
Before food, before breath.
– Vernyce Dannells