Blasphemy

A poem

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Its autumn for my friends in the southern hemisphere, so it makes sense to bring this poem forward. Also, poetry transcends seasons…

Blasphemy

Garden walks #6

Autumn forest | Photo by Brian Funke

1.
Today, this day,
this brilliant, blessed day
I sat silent
on a buckwheat cushion
stock still to listen
to the silent sound
that bubbles up
like a babbling spring,
the spring I lean over
to fill my parched bones,
my hollow bones,
now filled with clear water silence.

Inside has spilled its secrets
and I stand solidified,
rooted and ready
to grow another ring,
stepping toward the oaken door
I reach for the handle
and turn three ribs 
till they crack,
pull gently and open
so my heart may cross
the threshold
to the wild outside.

2.
Pond of sky,
sky below and earth above,
all is upside down,
for where is my face
in this pond of sky,
clear, clear as can be,
brown eyes reflecting
all that flies above,
and when I look up,
I am not there.

3. 
The sun is low
in the eastern sky,
night comes,
truly, all
is not as it seems.

4.
Yesterday, a gray sky
of two thousand pounds.

Today, a blue sky
I see stars through.

5.
Autumn is not silent
like snow in winter.
The dense oak forest
whispers in its bare top
and squirrels skitter
over an oaken ground,
mystical prayers
permeate my in and out breath   
not the prayers of the pious
standing behind an oaken pulpit,
but the decrepit 
cushioned in their walk
on three inches
of every brown-hued
oak leaf.

6.
I will hurry
to the ridge,
for the sun
is almost touching
the lips
of the western earth.
And there I am,
west is west
and sky is up,
and my shamed ego is proud.
Always proud,
how quickly I find
who I am, forgetting
who I am.

7.
The sun sets
and in a final brilliant ray
asks me 
What is your name?
I answer

I am.

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Thank you for reading! What strikes you, speaks to you, or stirs in you while you read this piece? I look forward to whatever dialogue happens here, and as always, I will be following up with a Reflection essay on how this poem emerged into being.

Brian

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