“Remember you are dust
and to dust you shall return.”
the large brown bowl
rests on a purple cloth
its roundness holding ashes
freshly burned
black and ready for wearing.
blackened thumbs
press the ancient sign
upon the waiting foreheads.
I hear the message repeated
until it haunts and hunts me down:
remember, remember, remember
you are dust, dust, only dust
someday only dust will remain.
the echo of the Lent stained ashes
speaks the truth of my humanity:
the humbleness of my beginning,
the simplicity of my departure.
A few wise words
echoing through Ash Wednesday
urge me to deeper things:
renewed dedication,
constant compassion
and mindful awareness.
I leave marvelling
at how simple and sublime
is this envelope of the soul,
which one day returns
to dust, dust, only dust.
Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems and Reflections for Every Season, Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2010.
SIMPLY SIMON 