It has become my habit to write a poem for Advent. In doing so, I try to instil something of the mood of the times and to reflect upon themes that seem to be prevalent. This year, the word I keep hearing is “liminality.” It comes from the Latin limen “threshold, cross-piece, sill” But tends to get used when we cross a sensory threshold or we are in a transitory space. It seems to speak into these times when so much is changing and familiarity is consigned to the past. So, this years Advent poem plays with those ideas. I hope you find something of value within it.
Liminal
On the edge of a moment –
must fear drive the chaos of becoming?
Faced with inevitable loss –
can hesitant doubt be heard as hope?
At the cusp of unknowing –
can we be open to the presence of possibility?
On the rim of fragility –
is truthfulness already broken beyond repair?
Here we are: dissolving into uncertainty,
filling time with inactive verbs
carried by searing winds of destruction.
Here we are: on the edge of blessing,
discovering love amongst woken healers
rejoicing at the threshold of breath.
Craig Muir, Advent 2021
May this Advent be a time to reflect upon all that life reveals and the Christmas season that follows bring an openness to the presence of possibility.
be blessed, Craig