At a Gathering

At a Gathering

Samuel Heard

We hear a kind of laughter, one that shakes
A person into truly present tense,
Forgetting the befores and afters, breaks 
Communion with their dead indifference.
Its echo is a kind of warmth, a sense
That makes some sense to all those who
Have mingled senses: Touch with touch, and scents
To scents; and eyes with eyes, and blood unto
The blood, convergence of a sacred hue.
For sharing this same body and same blood
Has made the taste of laughter come anew
To us, the frozen ones. At once, the blood
Is thawed, the bodies stirred, the cup now raised,
All truth now laughter, all laughter now praised.

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Samuel Heard
Writer & Editor

Samuel Heard is a writer, editor, and theology student. Originally from Central Asia, he now lives in North Carolina with his wife and two children. You can connect with him via email.

Photography by Road Ahead