2 Peter 3 “Consider that our Lord’s patience is directed toward salvation.” – 2 Peter 3:15 For once in church (before, I think, the Sacrament) In silence deep and cast adrift in prayer, I folded in upon the immanent For just a moment (maybe more) and there Was made of my own heartbeat so aware As to preclude all else surrounding me While sensing in the steady thrum its share Within a tapping in eternity— A tapping patient, tender, soft upon The soul, as if of one preoccupied With all the sad and silly goings-on Of someone whom they love and try to guide Beyond the lush entanglements of pride; The tapping of a God whose strange delight Is there to wait until I’m safe inside, No longer wandering aimless through the night.
Jeffrey Essmann is an essayist and poet living in New York. His poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, among them Dappled Things, Amethyst Review, the St. Austin Review, U.S. Catholic, America Magazine, The Society of Classical Poets, and various venues of the Benedictine monastery with which he is an oblate. He was the 2nd Place winner in the Catholic Literary Arts 2022 Assumption of Mary poetry contest and 1st Place winner in its Advent: Mary Mother of Hope contest later that year. He is editor of the Catholic Poetry Room page on the Integrated Catholic Life website.
Amethyst Review 