Ephemeral: A Meditation for Lent
Incense is often burned as an accompaniment to prayers.
The fire consumes,
a fragrant smoke rises,
and the ash is left behind.
When light pierces a void,
it cannot be discerned.
In the absence of light,
we cannot see the smoke.
Burnt offerings as sacrifice.
The smoke also rises.
A fragrant offering?
Perhaps it is just a reaching out. A prayer.
An interlocutor between the seen and the unseen.
Or perhaps a reminder that we are, for now, both -
the seen and the unseen.
The fire consumes,
a fragrant smoke rises,
and the ash is left behind.
© 2020. Deji Osinulu.
(from work created for Ash Wed/Lent 2020 installation at Ecclesia Houston.)