long time
Word
I, who live by words, am wordless when
I try my words in prayer. All language turns
To silence. Prayer will take my words and then
Reveal their emptiness. The stilled voice learns
To hold its peace, to listen with the heart
To silence that is joy, is adoration.
The self is shattered, all words torn apart
In this strange patterned time of
contemplation
That, in time breaks time, breaks words,
breaks me,
And then, in silence, leaves me healed and
mended.
I leave, return to language, for I see
Through words, even when all words are
ended.
I, who live by words, am wordless when
I turn me to the Word to pray. Amen.
-- Madeleine L'Engle, Penguins and Golden Calves
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When was the last time you talked to God?