Of an Easter Night

I arrived late at Sacrament meeting today, just in time, in fact, to hear Sam invite those of us who didn't witness aloud then to do so in some fashion later. I wasn't ready until just now.
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And Death Shall Have No Dominion
--Dylan Thomas

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

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And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him...

There came from Jairus' house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

And he cometh to the house of Jairus, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the little girl is not dead, but sleepeth.

And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and mother of the little girl, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the little girl was lying.

And he took the little girl by the hand, and said unto her, Little girl, I say unto thee, arise. And straightaway the little girl rose, and walked...

(Mark 5: 22-24; 35-42)

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Brian called tonight to wish us a happy Easter; he said that he and Megan had enjoyed the holiday at Nicea's house. Aunt Shawn was there, and Tanner, recently married. They sat around the table after dinner, Shawn and Nicea telling stories about Mom. They laughed, about tricks she'd played on them when they were girls, mostly--like the time when she told Aunt Shawn she'd do her eyebrows real pretty, so hold still! then painted Groucho Marx tufts on her forehead. To hear Brian tell it, it was a happy night, and I was grateful for the news.

Most days, seems I can't help being a skeptic, content to stumble along by the meager light of my own heart and thoughts. Tonight, though, in the face of such evidence, and craving so the light, I live by the certainty that He is the resurrection and the life: we that believe in Him, though we were dead, yet shall we live.