the power &
the glory
precede
the strong &
weak forces,
electro-magnetism
& gravity.
human beings
may have
discovered
goodness &
forgiveness––
our egos
do not own
the earth
or the planets
or the laws.
we also seem to
want to name
the final tragic
epoch of our earth,
the anthropocene,
after ourselves
(without being
aware of the
irony).
we are a tiny tiny tiny
invisible whisper
of meaning
engulfed in
unknowable
vastness.
we use words
& symbols & accordion
sounds to express
our needs
to a universe
that does not hear.
we embody
order––
we feel
kindness––
we are moved
by love
just like
dante’s spheres.
we think
in a physical world––
& experience
in an emotional
one.
we consume
life & chemistry
& resources
we can’t fully
digest.
we perform
on the stage of emptiness
where freedom
makes it possible
for us to imagine &
to act.
there are limits
even to
our dreaming
pierced
by genius––
socrates
einstein
da vinci
michaelangelo
basho
shakespeare
buddha
lao tzu
confucius
jesus.
we all glimpse
the light
from beyond.
though we wish
to stand
on an eternal foundation
of safety & certainty––
we are
cur-jumbled
by fear & heisenberg’s
quantum-uncertainty.
the atomic flow
is the flow
of our tao––
the river that
heraclitus cannot
step into
twice.
every moment
is the unrepeatable
change
that we
are.
a person is not
a constant––
every star
is a quest.
the permanence
of impermanence
is what we discover
& where we
grow.
each of us
is an indecipherable
infinity––
like a cat
or a stone
or a cloud
or a galaxy––
& the cause
is the inconceivable
effect.