Surprised by joy

So, to banish gloom, I have been working on something to present tonight at my Quaker Meeting. Every month a few of us meet for something we call Creative Listening, taking it in turns to bring a poem or snippet of some writing we think might inspire us all to deep thoughts. Flicking through my poetry books I came on this one, a rare thing in that it is about (among other things) a Quaker Meeting for Worship. Appropriate for its Quaker-ness then but also because both it and a good friend have reminded me that joy is a pretty special thing and not to be sniffed at.

Daffodil Ministry* by U A Fanthorpe

One of the more difficult denominations.
No artless formula of psalms, collect,
And-now-to-God-the-father; unrelenting ministry
Of the solo conscience. Mankind’s cheerless concerns
Can drop in here like friends

And yet the daffodils, she says

And yettishness: a state of mind.

O yes, of course the world is harsh
And suffering, O yes — and yet
This morning, as I walked along
And saw the daffodils, I thought —
And so forth, daffodilling on.

Easier not to meet each others’ eyes.

And yet, and yes, the daffodils
Making their point, in scurfy gardens,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Municipally distributed, like grit.
Wherever a bulb can lodge and multiply,
Long-legged, gape-mouthed, a yellow hop in air,
Daffodils are.
Homelessness, poverty,
Injustice, executions, arms trade, war
Are too.

The stillness isn’t easy with itself.

And yet, and yet.

*Daffodil ministry - every spring a Friend notices how lovely the daffodils look as they come to meeting for worship, and they minister about how lovely the world is. Generally a pejorative term to describe uncritical and predictable ministry.
from Quaker Jargon Buster