Poetry

Lectionary Poetry – First Sunday of Advent (Year A)

Lectionary Poetry Advent

We continue our weekly series of poetry that resonates with the lectionary readings for the week (Revised Common Lectionary and Narrative Lectionary).



 
 

*** Revised Common Lectionary ***


Lectionary Reading:
Romans 13:11-14

 
 

CLASSIC POEM:

The Awakening
James Weldon Johnson

I dreamed that I was a rose
That grew beside a lonely way,
Close by a path none ever chose,
And there I lingered day by day.
Beneath the sunshine and the show’r
I grew and waited there apart,
Gathering perfume hour by hour,
And storing it within my heart,
Yet, never knew,
Just why I waited there and grew.

I dreamed that you were a bee
That one day gaily flew along,
You came across the hedge to me,
And sang a soft, love-burdened song.
You brushed my petals with a kiss,
I woke to gladness with a start,
And yielded up to you in bliss
The treasured fragrance of my heart;
And then I knew
That I had waited there for you.

*** This poem is in the public domain,
and may be read in a live-streamed worship service.
 
 


CONTEMPORARY POEM:

The Waking
Theodore Roethke

SNIPPET:
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

[ READ THE FULL POEM ]

 
 

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One Comment

  1. I so appreciate this. Thank you!