Dust Returning

Dust collects on me
As I am dust returning
Fading as my possessions do
Burning up as yesterday’s logs on the hearth
Swirling as on a windy day
Stinging my eyes in bewildering chaos

I tread on others
As they tread on me
Souls sticking to soles
Lowered and pressed low
Tramping fragments of decay
And death, the Spirit’s life dismembered

But will the wind reanimate?
Bring form in the great scattering?
When conquerors rush on
Entering windows in pursuit?
Yea, remembering our frame, He joins
Us, binding in secret, making whole.

This is a brief poem for Ash Wednesday where I mediate on the themes related to dust and ashes as found in Joel 2, Isaiah 58, Psalm 103, Matthew 6:1-21, and 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10. Much thanks to the folks at Every Moment Holy and the reading and reflection prompts in their 2023 Lenten Journal.