With church closed I’ve taken to the streets
for the long-hour’s walk each Sunday morning,
feeling no guilt at being seen elsewhere I’m
learning a new practice of distantly greeting
others exploring this freedom, nodding subtly
or lifting a hand to wave to dog-walkers;
we are all new to one another, now seen
instead of sermonized, this ‘peace be with you’
is our new liturgy, unled, unplanned and
even more satisfyingly so because it is ours alone,
and even some heathens jogging acknowledge
newcomers to this sanctuary of quiet streets
at eleven-AM on a Sunday – Amen and Amen.
James Callahan 