Complicated stuff
This notion of a calendar,
Man’s time based on God’s heavens.
We think we’ve got it, right down to the minute,
2025 Winter Solstice, December 21 7:03AM PST.
In the West, we thank astronomers,
Our ancient calendars: Egyptian, Roman,
And the one decreed by Julius Caesar
In what later became known as 45 BC.
Flawed, complicated affairs, these,
A pope called Gregory made an adjustment
Just 443 years ago,
His fundamental upgrade still working.
And now you set your clock by it.
Today I ponder the sky.
And notice a redtail hawk
Soaring on a thermal
Spying on her terrain below.
At once a wide periphery
At once a central point.
Lunch. Lunchtime again.
Her eagle-eye perspective,
With no thought of calendar
Or solstice as we know them.
I am reminded of our difference
And of our sameness.
God’s creation, simple creatures each,
But I have a godlike mind,
An intellect, and a calendar.
She gathers her meal, a gopher.
In time, I seek to lead a life
Pleasing to God.
In time, she simply leads a life
At God’s good-pleasure.
We both do both, actually.
ME 12/21/2025
