[Three seconds of air]
*Though cryptic, “God spent the night” is one of my favorites. It came to me when I contemplated the annunciation. “Spent the night” can have different connotations: God spending time on earth, God dwelling with us on earth, with us during times of being filled with the Spirit, or when God “impregnated” (for lack of a better word) Mary. “Three seconds of air” has several connotations as well. Like all art, it is in the eye of the interpreter. For some, the idea of God’s spending the night with us is just air, as in nothing/ a fabrication, indeed, their response to it is nothing, or “air”. For others, God spending the night is holy mystery. The Greek word for Spirit also means wind (moving air). Being graced with God’s presence is like coming up for air for the first time. Access to air brings freedom, life, clarity. The poem invites the reader to pause and consider what great shift happened when God dwelt with humans.
