If not now, when?
Watch and learn
Go to the ant . . . consider its ways, and be wise. —Prov. 6:6
by Rose Niles
Carapace of industry on the march.
Discovered:
mountainous crumb.
Careen to return home the prize.
Oldest friends
I name you
Amber and onyx.
Scuttlers,
observed
found peace in cooperative harmony.
Others scorned digging in the
Dirt
(But I knew better)
Chaotic secrets of that household
soothed with the whisper
Of serene
Undeterred
Community
On the march.
Holy lessons:
how we march and march again,
undeterred,
from our littlest relations came:
swarm to the sacred task
of persistence
of endurance
of collective work
and responsibility
until this mountain of God’s love for all
is brought home.
beyond getting mad
we get busy
Baptized, reared, and ordained a ruling elder in the Bronx at the age of fourteen, Rose Niles has served the church as a teaching elder, pastor, and supporter of theological education. Rose is bi-racial, a daughter of immigrant parents, a mother of one phenomenal woman, and a lifelong pilgrim. Amazed, she finds herself in Houston, Texas, serving Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary on this leg of the pilgrim journey. You can read more of her poems here.