Photo: by Tom Simpson, Outdoor Illinois Journal.

The Sacraments

I once spoke to my friend, an old squirrel, about the Sacraments –
he got so excited

and ran into a hollow in his tree and came
back holding some acorns, an owl feather,
and a ribbon he had found.

And I just smiled and said, “Yes, dear,
you understand:

everything imparts
His grace.”

— Daniel Ladinsky, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and the West. Inspired by St. Francis.