This is the last poem of summer. We have enjoyed sharing our favorites with you. Sister Joan wrote this one in the autumn on the north shore of Lake Superior.
The Chair
From the chair
on the deck
one can see across Lake Superior
where it ends at the sky
and rock there
in Grandma’s chair
and remember her lap
and rock to the waves
spilling on the basalt rock
the Earth’s core left here
five billion years ago
to crumble a little every day
I rock from time present
to time past
and back where
purple asters bloom
and maples will turn red tomorrow
I could be someone’s grandma
but I’m not
I while away a moment
Of the little time I have
Empty white chair
on a balcony overlooking blue sea
at the door of a room
with open windows
showed me
where every chair sits
exactly between inside and outside
here and there
now and then
What steadies me
is knowing
that I got here
where I’m going
Joan Mitchell, CSJ
Sent from my iPad