TWO POEMS FOR PENTECOST

Today we feel the wind beneath our wings
Today the hidden fountain flows and plays
Today the church draws breath at last and sings
As every flame becomes a Tongue of praise.
This is the feast of fire, air and water
Poured out and breathed and kindled into earth.
The earth herself awakens to her maker
And is translated out of death to birth.
The right words come today in their right order
And every word spells freedom and release
Today the gospel crosses every border
All tongues are loosed by the Prince of Peace
Today the lost are found in his translation.
Whose mother tongue is Love in every nation.
Malcolm Guite

Oh feed me this day, O Holy Spirit with
the fragrance of the fields and the
Freshness of the oceans which you have
Made, and help me to hear and hold
in all dearness those exacting and wonderful
Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, saying:
Follow me.
Mary Oliver