Nunc Dimittis

Photograph by Alex Shapiro


Nunc Dimittis

Saturday night between 7 and 9:30 p.m.,
three good friends, Charles,
our guide and I
kayaked almost silently
through the Haro Strait.
We were flanked by bald eagles,
Dall’s porpoises, small fish that
jumped giddily out of the water,
rhinoceros auklets,
and the memory of a large pod
of Orca whales who swam
in this same spot just an hour earlier.

As twilight surrendered to nighttime,
fascinating sparks from bioluminescent
life forms lit up in the water
with each paddle stroke.
Vancouver Island and B.C.’s smaller
southern gulf isles met our gaze
across the sea,
and as the clouds gave way
to the sunset
which gave way to the stars,
I knew
I was in my own version of Heaven.

Nunc Dimittis;
The text refers to how,
upon seeing baby Jesus,
Simeon declares that
he’s seen God’s salvation–
something God had promised
he would experience before he died.
Well, for me, and for a lot of folks
just like me,
moments like this are my salvation,
and the power of the universe
in its natural beauty,
in its art,
and in the kindest interactions
with others,
are the only saviours that matter.
Amen!


Alex Shapiro August 2009

Posted over on her site, Notes From the Kelp