…then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. – Psalm 96
I’m lost in this beautiful world.
I’m not smart enough to live without faith.
Everything looks miraculous.
Pebbles in a blue stream.
Comb-footed spiders.
Burst of falcon flight.
Scent of lightning.
The entire chain
from moon to marrow.
Galaxies of superannuating suns.
Glorious explosions
releasing way more energy than it takes to make a tree,
to fashion a woodwind,
to shape a reed,
to play Hallelujah.
Dear mother of the universe,
you must be sad, the way we live,
naming things our own, when
everything is borderless.
Envy and betrayal in our small circles
of sameness,
to killing each other for the very differences
that sustain us.
Withholding, hoarding
that which makes for healing.
Tailoring darkness out of all this light,
out of all this love —
and calling the darkness light.
We swollen clouds.
We sickly wolves.
We sullen gulls.
Everything was ours.
Then we clutched it.
I watch your sun sink behind a mountain
and hit the limbs of a Western hemlock,
highlighting each and every fragrant needle,
splintering light with more light
until everything is glowing,
and the forest comes alive with woodwinds,
playing Hallelujah
for the passing world,
for the world to come.
Such an uplifting tribute to the miracle of creation, of which we remain a forgotten aspect
Thank you Ananda!
So great, stephen. Such a beautiful homage to our Mother and her glorious gifts, Thanks
Thank you Nancy!
“The earth is the Lord’s (‘beautiful’ revelation), and the fulness thereof”!
Thanks for that Ike!
Like with so much of your writing, I find myself thinking about what was the source of inspiration, the triggering event, the true intentions of your words. But I also simply love reading your work for its depth, emotional pull, and beauty – even when all is not perfect.
At times, certain phrases, while most certainly not what you intended, lead the reader (at least me) to make some odd connections. Just yesterday, twice I was involved in conversations about the hubris of scientists (“I’m not smart enough to live without faith.” — Perhaps more should take this view.).
One conversation was about the morale and ethical dilemmas associated with solar management as a form of geoengineering, a “solution” to climate change (“Galaxies of superannuating suns. Glorious explosions releasing way more energy than it takes to make a tree”)
A handful of scientists – being funded by potentially dubious sources with vested interests – are forgetting their commitment to objectivity and do-no-harm, blinded by the belief that they can save the world (“Withholding, hoarding that which makes for healing. …Tailoring darkness out of all this light, out of all this love —and calling the darkness light.”)
How is that for a bizarre interpretation or reaction to your writing!
I hope all is well my friend.
Diane, I love how you take my writing and expand it. Thank you my friend. Do keep up your most important work. You are a champion.
Someday, I would love to collaborate on some sort of writing project!
I’d like that.