Though ill with cancer, I am here outdoors
To walk slow steps and feel the warmth of spring.
By chance, a nearby hermit thrush outpours
His ecstasy to live, to fly, to sing,
And daffodils hurl yellow at the sky
As if they too would venerate this day.
Trees point their buds toward me to testify
That life this time is surely here to stay.
Should this ill man resent spring’s revelries
And plead that apt decorum should be due?
No, I will join the season’s rhapsodies
And find a way to make myself brand new.
My body may be one grim cancer cell,
But joyful, I will sing “my soul is well.”
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
