INTERLUDE 5
The Cycle of the Spirit
Clay lies still, but blood’s a rover;
Breath’s a ware that will not keep;
Up lad: when the journey’s over
There’ll be time enough to sleep.
—A. E. Housman1
The spiritual cycle has come full circle. In facing Maria’s death, Steve begins to anticipate the twilight of his own spiritual journey. Death brings terror. It also brings new life, and renewed appreciation for life’s gifts. When we wed, we leave one family to join a new one. When we die, we let go of this world to rejoin eternity.
