Published 16 Jul 2020
Poems for Contemplation: "Manna"
Luci Shaw bridges the gap between present day and biblical times in this offering from our Summer 2020 Poetry Series.
By Luci ShawA blog post Women Scholars and Professionals
This summer The Well is featuring a series of poems by women. Ruth Goring invites you to approach them curiously and meditatively.
"Manna"
by Luci Shaw
They asked, and he brought quails,and gave them food from heaven. — Psalms [sic] 105:40
I’m not asking for quails for dinnerand, if they flew in my window, at mealtime, in a torrent of wind, I would think aggravation, not miracle.
Time is so multiple and fluid. If I lose a day flying the Pacific and gain it back returning, perhaps the prayer I offered this morning at first light was known and answered last week.
You never know what a simple request will get you. So, no plea for birds from heaven. Rather, I will commit myself to this quotidian wilderness, watching for what the wind may bring me next— perhaps a minor wafer tasting like honey that I can pick up with my fingers and lay on my tongue to ease, for this day, my hunger to know.
Luci Shaw was born in London, England in 1928. A poet and essayist, since 1986 she has been Writer in Residence at Regent College, Vancouver. Author of over thirty-seven books of poetry and creative non-fiction, her writing has appeared in numerous literary and religious journals. In 2013 she received the 10th annual Denise Levertov Award for Creative Writing from Seattle Pacific University. Her most recent collection, Eye of the Beholder, was released by Paraclete Press in 2018.