LABYRINTHINE
MUTTERINGS

Quite by accident

I found myself muttering the phrase,
“The Burden and the Blessing.”
It sounded like the title of a novel
or a movie made from a novel.
It would be one chase scene after another.
It would be the story of the struggles
of a president or a king,
a restaurant owner or a priest.

Make it a priest.
The word “blessing” has religious overtones.

The burden:
one man’s struggle with a parish,
with a people, with alcohol or anger,
with laziness or love,
with a woman, with God.
Would it be words whispered about him
behind his back, or the dark night journey
in search of God and God in search of him,
or the pain of going it alone,
or the saying “No!”
to powerful temptations hounding him?

The blessing:
the scent of God in the chase,
glimpses of being pursued,
and in the midst of all this
I found myself muttering the phrase,
“I am loved.”
Then the laugh, the realization,
“Hey stupid! All this has already
been written by Francis Thompson
in his poem, The Hound of Heaven.”
Then I laughed again, because it's also
written in Graham Green's novel,
The Power and the Glory - and surprise,
both of these are connected,
because the novel was also named,
"The Labyrinthine Ways.”

© Andy Costello,
Reflections 2008