the blessings of the mundane

life is surreal,
or at least it often feels that way.
especially before the pivotal moments
and in the quiet, introspective ones.
it feels most real in the trivial and the mundane.
there is something unflinchingly real about
washing dishes,
eating breakfast cereal,
cleaning a toilet,
carrying my daughter,
or digging in a garden.
i believe that we must need such things,
that these trifling routines of life are both essential and sublime
for those wandering in a finite world.
They are a ground,
a baseline that allows us enjoy the rest of life in peace,
not desperate for ever higher highs,
not collapsing in despair at our lows.

dreams vs days

here in the muddle of tired and busy days
i can feel dreams and reality collide
it is a sad sound,
striving to steal all hope and joy
a fool i would be to let it!
for true life has the greater beauty
by which painless dreams pale to compare.
for a joy devoid of all meaning
soon retreats before boredom's onset
and a hope that never proves true
was naught but empty longing.
and how much darker, then,
is pain or fear in our fantasies.
but in the realm of real things,
even a pain, having either purpose or end,
may be found beautiful in the end.
and fear can vanish in the light of time.
how much greater, then,
is a meaningful joy and a sure hope!
so i will believe that a dream lost
is truly no loss at all,
and every dream found true
is counted as sweet surprise.
the Lord is on His throne;
i'll fear not the unfolding of days,
tired and busy though they be.