There is a vastness,
beauty,
and logic
in the cosmos
that defies imagination.
I stand in awe
before it
and within it.
Something inside me
yearns
for the same greatness,
beauty,
and logic
to be made real
and observable
in my short life
on this tiny planet.
All I have,
and all I am,
is a product
of this vastness,
and beauty,
and logic.
It sustains me,
even when I forget
and take it for granted.
Perhaps then,
I can find the strength
to let go
of resentment
when others forget
and take me for granted
as well.
I remember this
in moments of peace,
that I might remember it
in days of stress,
and thus be freed
from anxiety:
This vastness,
beauty,
and logic
does not come from me,
did not begin with me,
and will not end with me.
“Virgin’s Monastery (benedictine nuns), Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil05” by Cláudio Pastro ; foto de Eugenio Hansen, OFS – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Outside. Beside.
Closer than expected.
Too close for comfort.
Gestures and visions.
Function, not nature.
Here, not there.
Grabbing my attention
directing it back:
Beside. Inside.
Height to height,
glory to glory,
deep calls out to deep.
Image by Taka. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Life gave
what I took
for my own.
I learned
how to seize
with the hands,
how to tear
with the teeth.
I learned
what it felt like
to touch with the lips,
to press with the tongue,
to be surprised by how much
came out
when I broke the surface,
to be covered with sweetness
all over my body.
Now I know.
It’s complicated.
***
What I took
is mine.
I’m learning
how to build
with the hands,
how to hold nails
with the teeth.
Cleaning up
is never
as much fun
as messing up.
Construction
is never
as cathartic
as demolition.
Nails and wood
are not the same thing
as a tree.
They have no power
to give life.
I’m learning
what it feels like
to be covered with sweat
all over my body.
***
What I made
gave life.
It was an accident.
Nobody meant for it to happen
this way.
It just seemed like a good idea
at the time.
The hands that learned
to seize and build.
The teeth that learned
to tear and hold.
The facsimile of a tree.
I wasn’t expecting it
to be alive
when I broke the surface.
I was surprised by how much
came out
and covered me with blood
all over my body.
By Audrey from Central Pennsylvania, USA (Daisy Drops Uploaded by Fæ) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia CommonsTurn aside to the whole on fire:
Consuming, consumed
Unassuming, assumed
And so, beyond consumption
And so, breaking all assumptions.
In stillness, an explosion
In silence, a voice
Chain reaction
Isness.
Thousands of miles, even millions
Millennia, maybe forever
Light and color in the mind
Take off your shoes.
Let them go
Let them be
Ice irradiated
Becomes humble
Note: I recently discovered that I unintentionally plagiarized this poem. Call it a case of unconscious memory. When I first wrote this post, I thought it was original to me, but then I went back and picked up the book EverythingBelongs by Richard Rohr and found this same poem within its pages. Oh, the embarrassment! So, mea culpa: this poem is not original to me, but can be found on page 62 of Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr. Apologies.
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