Empty Suitcase
The cat snuggles down
into my empty suitcase,
out to fill for a trip. She
knows something’s up.
It’s a bed, she insists.
A warm place, even an
instrument of stasis. I
let her nestle there,
passing on to other
bustling that needs
doing, done. That I’ve
lived out of a suitcase
won’t perhaps make
my obituary. Not much
does. Yet it is the things
we’ve lugged place
to place; it is the cat
let sleep that is,
was, what we were.
That old Zen mind
Basho said, “Noble,
noble, not to think of
life when you see
a flash of lightening.”
I say, impossible too
to pack for the long road
and not dwell on passing.
Senior Minister at First Unitarian Society, Minneapolis, MN
Rev. David Breeden, PhD, began his service as Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis in August 2013.He holds an MFA degree from The Iowa Writers' Workshop, a PhD from the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School.Rev. David serves on the board of the American Humanist Association Center for Education and is adjunct faculty at Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary.
David Breeden earned an MFA degree from The Iowa Writers' Workshop, a PhD from the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School. He has published several books of poetry, translations, and essays. His blog and sermons can be found at www.FirstUnitarian.org
David Breeden earned an MFA degree from The Iowa Writers' Workshop, a PhD from the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School. He has published several books of poetry, translations, and essays. His blog and sermons can be found at www.FirstUnitarian.org
Latest posts by Rev. Dr. David Breeden (see all)
- The Crooked Timber of Ourselves - May 1, 2020
- Justice, Elections, and Whiteness - November 6, 2014
- Conscience and Choosing the Hill to Die On - October 30, 2014
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