Before Irene

At one time I would have welcomed this rain.
Something about catharsis from the sky
seemed to promise a matching resolution in my soul.
But what is the cost in plywood of a hurricane?
And am I willing to pay the price
of a boy beneath a fallen tree
or a mother swept away, calling,
"Take care of the children,"
to a helpless husband left behind,
for a half dozen ticks of a clock that talk
of a purely temporary peace?
Rain's redemption, where it falls,
is balanced by its damages,
and is for the ground it falls on, not for me.
Shiva, make me ever mindful 
of the meaning of these storms;
grant new life and hope to this weeping world
and lay your destroyer's hand upon
the inner landscape I must renew.
Bring your cleansing force to me here inside,
and let me feel the beauty of your lightning and rainfall
in my heart's interior.

August 31 2011

As Though Gibraltar

As though Gibraltar came shouldering roughly up
out of the boisterous sea, making a strait for Hercules
and turning unsuspecting beach to inland Spain,
and I, an ignorant Barbary Macaque, 
went scrambling over that unimagined immensity
still draining ocean from its rocky face,
as though it were already ancient home to me;
this is how we should make our lives' foundation,
so that when our fortunes fail
the ponderous bulk of all that world 
will come roaring up from under, 
thundering loudly of its strength 
and heaving granite cliffs into the sun
for us to groom each others' fur on.

August 17 2011

The Way We Speak To God

The way we speak to God,
in structures built on sand,
in private bedrooms, quiet with no light
and only a yearning lonely ear,
in helpless sorrow, helpless rage,
in contemplation of our age,
in pulling roots and planting seed,
in seeking what we need,
in endless telling and enacting our infirmities;
the way we speak to God,
as when we rescue all the fallen,
regret the left behind,
disdain the claims of others,
undo honor on a screen,
think too late of what is seen
by others, cherish mothers,
show mercy, commit our crimes and hearts,
or practice thoughtlessness:

These acts of ours are loud
but even if they whispered would be heard.
Pray, by all means pray,
if prayer answers well;
but as you stand considering the landscape of each day, 
observe, 
admit, 
embrace 
the way each aspect of us shouts to heaven high, 
and marvel, and remember: most of all,
the way we speak to God 
is accidental.

August 8 2011

Swiss Army Knife

Oh to be
a little while
a Swiss Army knife
folded up
and resting quietly
in someone else's pocket.

August 6 2011