Perhaps You Can Tell Me
I.
Perhaps you can tell me
should you know
Is this what it is
to listen to one’s soul
To become still enough
quiet enough inside
like one brittle January full moon night
I find myself surrounded by ancient forest beings
and welcome the descent of awe as I stand at their feet
each tall of stature and captivating presence
casting long dark shadows across the freshly fallen white of winter
Something in me wakens
to shared lineages lying out eons beyond naming
lungs breathe in reciprocity
with the embodied presence of the Tree of Life
rising out of a silence so vast
only the quiet singing of the stars is heard
Within I am drawn as a bee to flower
fly to sense and feel into forbidden wilds—
while the eternal serpent is born yet again
in the womb of my chest
heart drums and dances to a rhythm
inviting recognition of familiarity and source
of a primal aching to be seen and felt and heard
Calling me home
II.
This soul’s need to be touched and held…
this primal hunger for belonging and meaning
what a seduction to look outside
for what can never be satisfied
until at last I sit naked and stripped
gaze into the mirror of Life’s Fire
and offer on the altar of wholeness
the precious fuels of my most vulnerable identities
Offering now all I thought I should be
am not nor will ever be
releasing and forgiving the grievances and judgments
for the might haves
and now with the love and compassion and kindness
of the One Heart
open the door of my secret longings at last
upon what is
with eyes of surprise and wonder and gratitude
for this flame of Life called
I Am…That I Am
2 Comments
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Robin Easton
12/18/2018 at 10:36 amDear Larry, I’ve been back at least 4 times to read and reread this incredibly deep and beautiful poem. But it is more than just a beautiful poem, as I read it again tonight (or early, early dawn) I finally realized that it is an ‘Experience’ or a living, feeling meditation. It reflects your own Wild Intelligence, your own ability to ‘merge with’ your world, particularly your deeply intimate and passionate love affair with the still wild world. You hear it and speak and feel in turn to it.
I am always so moved and reassured by how open and emotional you are. It is truly a rare and magnificent quality about your, especially you.
These lines just rip my heart wide open:
“This need to be touched and held…
what is it to discover
this hunger for belonging and companionship
can never be deeply filled or met
until one sits nakedly stripped
gazing into the mirror of Life’s Fire
and offers on the alter of wholeness
this precious fuel of one’s most vulnerable self”
Wow!! THAT exactly describes YOU and what you have done in this life. And that very beautiful, refined quality about you, that way of life for you, shows up in everything you write. But, it is more than that. It shows up in all of your deeply kind and loving interactions with all those around you. You live it. I see it in your comments to me and others. I ALWAYS hunger to read all that you share (whether with me or another), as I go away feeling healed, seen, and more real. I see a reflection of myself, another willing to be vulnerable and sensitive and REAL. I’ve tears writing that and that is good thing. You are so seen and cherished. Much love and so much gratitude for choosing to walk such a beautiful path, dear friend.
Larry Glover
01/05/2019 at 6:16 pmGosh Robin, Thank you for this touching acknowledgement. I feel so seen by you… and I’ve seen enough of you to know I believe there is nothing you could say of me that I would not see in and affirm as your being and nature too. And this, indeed, feels to be exactly what it is that is moving in me:
“…until one sits nakedly stripped
gazing into the mirror of Life’s Fire
and offers on the alter of wholeness
this precious fuel of one’s most vulnerable self”
I just bow to you in humbleness and gratitude for the vision and insight and presence and beauty you exude. Please know words are simply incapable of expressing how deeply I value you.