God at My Elbow

Hello friends, A quote from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh reminds me that everything coexists. At this time of year — a period of contemplation for many, and many looking forward with hope to a new year — it’s not only monks and poets and who seek a unity in all things. Best wishes for 2021, Gene.

If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here. So we can say the cloud and the paper inter-are . . . You cannot point out one thing that is not here (in this sheet of paper) – time, space, the earth, the rain, the minerals in the soil, the rocks, the trees that become boats, the sunshine, the cloud, the river. Everything coexists with this sheet of paper . . . this sheet of paper is, because everything else is.

God at My Elbow

Most people learn spirituality
through rites, prayer, and community,
sometimes joined to acts of justice and peace.

Older age changed my cosmic view,
thanks to wonderful scientific advances,
grasping God in everything, everywhere.

At eighty-nine I’m still a practitioner
in the art of waiting for the divine
to sit next to me for coffee and bagel.

Yet I’m more aware of deer crossing the road,
and Trump selling a new batch of lies,
while cat Tony urges Hafiz during restless nights.

So much effort goes into converting people
to particular religions or magic gurus,
while the red-tufted Spirit lands on my birdfeeder.

Right now, right here,
we pause to breathe the divine,
hand extended in grief and joy.

Just sit and expect surprises.