Noah and God
You are mystery
half present, the other
hidden, and I see
the space you shelter.
My territory is silence now,
and the dark ark that shuts in
from the flood. I am familiar
with feeding the animals.
I am friends with the dark.
I have held ravens and doves
at the open window;
I have landed on rock
and built altars to life,
and to the mystery
that hovers in the fresh morning air
still slick with receding water.
You sit half hidden,
but I see where you become yourself,
in the indigo horizon,
and in the lowing of the life with me
and within me.
I see you appearing and know
your grace that deepens the murmur,
even though I do not know,
as you do of me
the language you speak when you are alone
The Rev. Dr. Mary Lautzenhiser Bellon serves as senior pastor at Collegiate UMC and Wesley Foundation in Ames, Iowa. "Abiding in Exile" is a spiritual support project of the Iowa Annual Conference.