Punctuating Space

In a world glutted with sound and words,

faith is practicing attention to

punctuation and space.

Commas, the breathing marks of life.

Periods give us pause

to recognize thoughts completed,

momentary silence to absorb their meaning.

Colons call forth declarations:

important names, lists.

Semi-colons help us connect related statements;

or hold nearly complete thoughts in tension;

recognizing the paradox of our existence.

Quotation marks connect us to

stories we’ve spoken and heard

with our own mouths and ears.

Apostrophes bring words together,

and teach us possession,

so we remember to whom we belong. 

Exclamations points are Eucharistic eurekas!

Then there are the ever-present

question marks, reminding us 

of wonder’s gift and its path to the Holy.

Each mark of punctuation –

in its own way – defines, combines,

and limits strings of words, making room

for spaces in between;

places whose breath

offers us a glimpse of God. 

© 2013 Todd Jenkins