Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.

– Sir Francis Drake
who sailed in 1577.

Untangling

A priceless, perfect locket deep-buried in its chest
Two hearts of gold shield gems untold
A treasure to beget

It's lengths of chain lie tangled - matted knots within their depths
I pluck at strands with unsure hands
I cannot wear it yet

Plied with trembling fingers now another link is freed
Sweet urgency burns hot in me
A triumph laced with greed

In clumsy haste it tumbles, scatters, crashes to the floor
What's left to me now seems to be
More hopeless than before

Return it to the coffin-box shoved down between the folds
Still jewel-bright dreams wink up at me
Each beckoning - "Take hold!"

Destined for priceless, perfect rest, bright-gleaming on my breast
It still needs such untangling
I cannot wear it yet

No Longer a Cherry

I'm starting a new blog....primarily because my old one won't transfer access to my new email address and my new name. But also because...a lot of things are new right now. New email address, new name, new home, new family.... I'm not a Cherry anymore. I'm now a Reich.

It seems appropriate to turn a page and start a new chapter with a new blog.

That's all for now. More later.

~B