I came back to my house after a week away. Picked up the scattered pieces of mail in the front entryway. Ritualistically put away the things from my suitcase. Started a load of laundry. Rifled through the mail.

Out of all the various pieces of mail, there was only one hand-written envelope -- so, of course, it was the first one that I opened. And as I read the contents of the envelope, I was touched by the beauty of this hand-made (though seemingly professionally-printed) Easter card. Very simple: a beautiful photograph (or is it a painting?) of a screw through weathered wooden planks, with an original poem printed along the top. And yet very profound. I thought I would share the poem with you:

Hout van God


Delen van die boom
Van goed en kwaad
Mijn oog verblind
Kennis van duizend dromen.

Toen keerde ik terug
naar mijn gestrande schip
Alleen nog wrakhout van de boeg
Lichten van jutters doemen op
Wartaal door de splinters in hun ogen.

Nu zit en pent mijn hart
Op de balken uit mijn ogen
Mijn tranen zullen niet bedrogen.

De Timmermanszoon woog kundig
Zijn kruishout voor mij af
Haaks op mijn bedacht bestek
Oogt het soms één millimeter te lang
Zelfs één millimeter te zwaar?

Zijn adem blies Hij er over uit
En riep: houd moed...

-- Kees Roeleveld, Pasen 2008

I was going to try and provide my own English translation of the poem (and maybe I'll still get around to providing it sometime soon) -- but then I started trying to do it, and I realized how difficult it is to accurately capture the meaning and feeling of poetry in translation.

For now, I'll just leave it at that -- and I'll wish you a very happy Easter.

Christ is risen!