Te Deum
quietly
within the blossoming day we are
whispering te deum
reading spare scripture
at noon in the sunshine
we are observing entire views in viewfinders
in soft light on a high cloudy day
patterns of te deum
back from visiting those corners of prayer
noticing what changes quickly
backward steps, stuttering blunders
we chant te deum
after small animal hibernation
the lonesome hedgehog, the secretive snail
after praising seraphim and cherubin
and folks holding steady
we sing te deum
that same song for simplicity and repetition
anaphora of stones and singing cedar trees
the female oriole
collecting gossamer strands of horsehair from farms
we grow along with that bird
while chanting:
te deum, te deum
Liz Nakazawa is the editor of Deer Drink the Moon:Poems of Oregon. This is an anthology of 33 Oregon poets writing nature poems. Her own poetry has appeared in Willawa, Timberline Review, Amethyst, ahundredgourds and other publications.
