SMOOTH STONES
Dark and hardened my soul
Before your presence washed
With waves of psalms in song*
Dawning grace on grace comes
As tide turns and returns
Approaching and receding
Wave on wave of verses
Chanted antiphonally over and again
As waves run up the beach
Reaching ever higher to dunes
To smooth and cleanse stones
Softening hard edges to round
My stone soul washed and smoothed
Year upon year, tide upon tide
As rounded and smoothed
I may rest in your hand with delight
In the finding
Found by my beachcomber Christ
*written on Jan. 10, 2012, at Lauds at Mount Angel Abbey
while listening to Psalm 42,
“All your waves and breakers have washed over me…”