Mardi Gras arrives again. The revelers gather to embrace the excess that precedes the abstinance. There is a time to feast and a time to fast. But there are no parades for us: no thrown beads, no expositions, no chanting crowds of tourists. Our celebration is a simple fried chicken filete dinner with broccoli rabe and polenta.
nightingale song
the deep cold before
the coming warmth
The revels end at midnight. Ash Wednesday then inaugurates another Lent, a liturgical season of reflection and retreat. There is a time to break down and a time to build up. The practice of letting go allows the mind to think clearly, and the heart to feel deeply. The practice of living simply lets others simply live. Our small sacrifices of comfort allow us time to serve others in their need. Our investing time in prayer and meditation draws us closer to our God who is Love.
morning sparrow
the first light of another
lengthening day
There is a time to fast and a time to feast. There is a time to break down and a time to build up. Knowing the time, and acting accordingly, makes all the difference.
always
another journey
new hope
for Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 126, “Poet’s Choice of Words”
Real Toads’ Tuesday Platform (imagined by Anmol (HA))
and dVerse Poets’ Tuesday Poetics: Turn, Turn, Turn . . . (pubtended by lillian)
Frank J. Tassone 
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