Easter Sunday and April Fools

Easter Morning by contemporary Christian artist He Qi.

Well today is Easter Sunday and also April Fools Day.  I know.  Scores of jokes spring to mind, some of them hilarious, some sacrilegious, and a few shockingly inappropriate.   Insert your favorite here and have a good laugh.

For untold millions today is serious, if joyful business at the heart of a deeply held faith and I want to be respectful of those beliefs as I am for all religions.   We will celebrate today in my home with a family of varying faiths and levels of piety.  We will defer to my wife Kathy, a devout Catholic for prayers.  I will have returned from Sunday services at the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry where Easter and Passover as well as ancient Spring traditions will be acknowledged but may or may not be the central theme of worship.

This year I will forgo a retelling and analysis of the story of Christ’s death and resurrection and its meaning.  Even the most steadfast atheist among my readers surely knows it.  Nor will I delve again into the near universal impulses of celebrating rebirth and renewal in springtime nor take the time once again to debunk certain stories cooked up by modern neo-pagans to make them feel more connected with ancient traditions.  You can find all of that easily enough.  Just Google.

The First of April is also the beginning of National Poetry Month which this blog traditionally celebrates by daily verse posts.

In light of this triple convergence and because I am a tad over extended, I will mark the occasion by re-cycling my own short verse written on Easter morning two years ago on the way to Church and based on an actual occurrence.  I believe it tags all of the bases.

I hope you enjoy it and those of you who celebrate Easter have a joyous holiday.

The Empty Tomb.

Waiting for a Ride Easter Morning

Easter, March 27, 2016

Waiting for a ride to church Easter morning

            breathing welcoming Spring,

            counting buds on twig tips.

Then, up there

            against the high light gray sky

            five turkey vultures gyre slowly.

            What sign of spring is this?

                        Has The Body been found?

—Patrick Murfin

TurkeyVulturers in flight..