Todd Edward Anderson

I sought, O Lord, your servant Peace,
Whom I expected soon at manger-side,
But when I drew near that hallowed trough,
The owner said that Peace had long since fed.
So, I retired to cold lake-front, where you
Were said to roam, but storms pursued me
As I sailed and capsized my poor raft.
Then in the distance, you Lord I spied,
Walking with Peace upon the angry waves,
And though I cried out for your hand, you took
Another’s, joined his ship, and the squall dispelled.
Hard to shore, I followed your bright shadow
To a garden late at night, but Peace had gone.
In shame I turned from your now crimson tears
To search the town for her whom I had missed.
At morn I saw her weeping by a tree,
And hasted to inquire her sudden grief,
But darkness hid my path, and when it fled,
So too had Peace departed from that place.
I wandered full of sorrow and despair
Up through the rocky cliffs and countryside
Believing my pursuit to be in vain;
Then on a stony door I chanced to knock,
Forsaking thus my search to rest my bones,
And who should roll it back and greet me guest
But Peace herself in shining linens dressed!

Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.