Advent

(Found here)

This bright blue first day of December

a tail wind brings my bike to town,

passing a pilgrimage of pick-up trucks

trailing five floats for the parade.

Styrofoam reindeer on crepe paper snow

pull that empty sleigh of sturdy foil

wrapping paper.

Coming home I pass the small black church,

in the head wind hear the choir,

patched cars parked on the grassless lawn,

trying out “Messiah” to the organ thumps.

Not through the wind or the fire

but the still small voice

of the whisper in the night

from the woman on the mule

to the man in the road

God speaks.

~Evelyn Mattern