Bunting Light

  for Susan and David                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           June 17, 2017

When spring gives way to summer,

the world spreads out before us.

Once quiet and dormant,

now verdant and vibrant,

sacramentally brilliant.

The air is filled with bird song

and wild honeysuckle.

Nuthatches and rose-breasted grosbeaks take to the trees;

red-winged blackbirds and thrushes dot the thickets.

And in June light,

burnt umber and crimson flash in the foliage.

But the indigo bunting hides,

its silhouette dark atop distant trees.

It takes just the right light,

a single ray that pierces the clouds

and filters the too-bright.

And then black gives way

to cerulean and aquamarine

in bunting light.

So it is with love,

which waits, cocooned in the heart.

Quiet yet perfect,

patient, ever expectant.

Until just the right light–

a single prayer that pierces the heart–

unwraps its cocoon.

Then prayer gives way to love

in bunting light.

And in this sacred space,

this sanctuary of light and grace,

two souls wed.