After the Funeral

So that is all life is: a darkening trail;
a coin once flipped and idly caught again;
a former lover’s final correspondence;
a ruined cathedral; a probing blame-filled glance . . .

is that all life is? a clearance sale?
a fire gone out? a broken useless pen?
the silence that always follows a sentence?
a scattered rose? a sigh? a squandered chance?

Yet—evening reflections on the pond,
and purple-veiled icons at Lent. Feeble
winter sunlight strengthens. Tiny sandals
by the door. A house tidied. Beyond
the playhouse, a tree planted. The smallest evil
mended. In the dark, pinpricks of candles.

—J. C. Scharl

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Finding a Pulse 

Michael Hanby

Trueman’s new book, The Desecration of Man, should further cement his authority. It supplements, focuses, and in…

An Open Letter to Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J.

George Weigel

Your Eminence: In an article recently published by a major German Catholic website, you suggested that the…

In Defense of Cultural Christianity

James R. Wood

More than two centuries ago, Søren Kierkegaard attacked the established church of his native Denmark. He denounced…