Stepping Back from the Glib Café

I have been dining at the glib café too frequently.    I have been listening to too many bitter, angry, paper-hearted ones, locked in their own glare. I am turning from the table of TV dinners of MSNBC, CNN, and POX News – that alphabet soup of garish headlines,  cynicism, blame, and eternally breaking bad news.

Instead, I am taking in the words of scripture. Poet and scholar, David Rosenberg  exposes anew the dive of imposters, held captive in their own minds. His translation of  Psalm 1 feeds me with the truth of the word of the infinite.

Psalm 1

Happy the one
stepping lightly over
the hearts of men

and out of the way
of mind-locked reality
the masks of sincerity

he steps from his place at the glib café
to find himself in the word
of the infinite

embracing it
in his mind
with his heart

parting his lips for it
lightly
day into night

transported like a tree
to a riverbank
sweet with fruit in time

his heart unselfish
whatever he does
ripens

while bitter men turn dry
blowing in the wind like yesterday’s paper

unable to stand in the gathering
light

they fall
faded masks
in love’s spotlight

burning hearts of paper
unhappily
locked in their own glare

but my Lord opens
his loving one
to breathe embracing air

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible

Oh won’t you meet me there for dinner in that living word
and embracing air?

Shall we together part our lips lightly for this feast?