“Magic (ma’-jik): an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source, something that casts a spell.” —Merriam-Webster.com

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Some of the faithful have expressed some consternation regarding some of the themes in Fragile Things, including that of magic, and one, after having read the poem by that name, decided to read no further. Her doing this neither made me angry nor hurt my feelings, but it did sadden me that she could not fully understand my use of the concept.

I used to say to Mama and Daddy quite frequently that I wish I had a magic wand, a way to fix the ills and soothe the heartbreak in the world, a way to rectify the injustices. My use of the term “magic wand” was mostly figurative, however, and what I wanted to communicate was my deep seated desire to make life better for everyone in whatever way I could, be that through prayer or worldly action or any other thing I could use to cause a shift in existence.

I hope you, like me, have someone in your world whose simple presence soothes you, makes you feel safe, reminds you that, no matter what, you will not be alone. You will have a hard time convincing me that that is not a form of magic. Sit in a church, either alone or with a full congregation, and listen to someone sing, or everyone sing, and tell me that you do not feel something that science has a hard time describing but that you know is real. Sit under a full moon with your toes dug deep into the sand and listen to the waves roll in and try to tell me that in that moment you are not spellbound. You can do it, but I won’t believe you, or my heart will be broken for you because if that does not reach a dark place in your soul, I cannot imagine the tragedy in your world.

Spend one day with the express intent of identifying as many different colors in nature as you can. Have you seen the dark, velvety purple of a winter pansy? Or the rich red of an oleander in full bloom? How about the iridescent green of the tail feathers of a Rhode Island Red rooster? How is this anything other than pure magic?

When you dig deeply enough, much of this is science based, and with science one can find cause and/or reason for many of these wonders and phenomen. Often, though, even science struggles to fully explain some of the details, mostly because of its own hubris and unwillingness to explore the right questions.

For me, science is magic. For me, God is in these details. Creation could have been made to work or could have evolved in shades of gray and in other even more boring ways, but we were gifted with this crazy, amazing world we live in that feeds our hearts and souls simply with the way it must function to continue to exist. How lovely that it was not!

For me, the wonders that fill this world and the cosmos beyond it are magic. God is magic. Wonder—that is magic. My intent was not to be irreverent to God or Christianity with my use of the term “magic”. Instead, it was to use that term as a form of gratitude and an expression of wonder for these miracles we were gifted. I hope, as you read the works in Fragile Things, you are able to feel and embrace this use and that it does not cause you to enjoy them less or even stop your progression through the book.

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Have you read Fragile Things? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on this post and my use of the theme of magic throughout the book in the comments below. If not, but you would like a copy to see what I am talking about, please see my store above.

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I Hope the Idea of “Magic” Does Not Offend You, But If It Does, Please Read This Post