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THE HUNGER THAT CROSSES THE BRIDGE BETWEEN

The physicist studies photons and particles,

while the seeker watches the sweet pea blossom

and waits at dawn for the hummingbird to sip its nectar.

What brings us to our knees before the altar of the holy?

In the darkness below ground,

what stirs inside the seed of the sweet pea?

In the moment when you strike the match,

what calls fire out of the sulfur tip?

It’s the physics of desire,

and God writes the equation for its fulfilling

in every place we might look.

Mary Camille Thomas

*Title from Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Mary Camille Thomas’ bio states: “I’m a cradle Catholic, I dip my cup
into the sweet water of the spiritual life wherever I find it, whether in a
mountaintop Benedictine monastery or an Ohlone sweat lodge. My po-
etry has appeared in Sisters Singing: Blessings, Prayers, Art, Songs and
Sacred Stories by Women and on my blog, The Kingdom of Enough.”
E-mail Mary at [email protected].

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