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In whitest skeletons the shadows of day
dusk dim and, mantle-like, settle and lay
upon bristling grass and sleeping hay.

To become is to come from the came
through old existence into some changed same.
The shadows, in covering, assert twilight’s change.

And the seed in the grass, as well as its eater,
is being the being of unending water:
The seed is life, and so it its eater.

To become is to come through the came
through old existence into some changed same.
The eater, in eating, thrives as it’s changed.

Like the ash of our skeletons, our selves are not stone,
and to be shaped in true friendship the heart becomes home.
The whole of a person alive’s not alone.

To become is to come through the came
through old existence into some changed same.
The lover, in offering, both the source and the change.

—Elisabeth Kramp

Dear Reader,

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.
GIVE NOW