IN THE QUIET, A RESURRECTION

Some days when the spirit
of the laughing Buddha is still,

the clouds gather ominously
and we shelter each other;

I am waiting for light
to pour though me.

I am always turning away
and towards prayer;

will faith ever hold me
still?

One single terrifying moment
of divinity is all;

the days are sand and sea
and we know nothing.


(c) Shaista Tayabali, 2000

First image from The Mag 

The artist, Sir Stanley Spencer, was famous for the religious motifs in his paintings, but equally so for being true and loyal to his hometown Cookham in Berkshire where he was regularly seen pushing a pram which held his easel and canvas, and for wearing pyjamas under his suit if he was cold! I've done that sometimes - surely the mark of an artist?!!

Second image from Gregory Colbert's Ashes and Snow collection, which surely is a form of divinity.