Of Memorials and Murmuration

We came in ones and twos 
to join the ones already there
and took our places 
to celebrate the life she had left behind.

God was there, as expected,
because that’s what God is for,
things that don’t make sense:
grief that surges like a tidal wave
suffering that strikes without reason
pain that cannot be silenced.

Trees make sense with their solid presence and reliable nature.
Big blue bodies of cold water make sense
With their reassurance of life and lovely lapping waves 
that dance in the summer breezes
Blossoming wildflowers make sense with their purpose
of beauty and pollination.

Child abuse, sexual assault, torture, war, murder–
these things don’t make sense 
and drive people to God, a grace unlike this world 
where logic fails again and again and again.

I watch the swallows come in ones and twos
to join the ones already there 
to take their places
and celebrate the life of the juniper.

Then all at once, in perfect union, they depart.