Great Shall Be Their Peace

I will not teach anymore

and I won’t imagine teaching,

won’t package up my

thoughts and observations,

won’t make lessons

I have recognized the danger

of such practices —

more than my lack of leverage,

more than the difficulty

of moving things from the periphery,

is my lack of knowledge

of another’s center,

and the fact that I can’t diagnose

someone else’s lack

“They shall teach no more every man his neighbor

and every man his brother saying ‘know the Lord’

for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,

saith the Lord”

“Thy children shall be taught of God

and great shall be their peace”

I will not try to teach —

Instead, I’ll listen,

I’ll strive to learn,

on each occasion,

what the infinite has already imparted

to each thirsting soul,

each waiting heart.

©Wendy Mulhern

October 21, 2015