The ark of consequence The classic rainbow shows as an arc, a bridge strung in thinning clouds, but I have seen it flash a perfect circle, rising and falling and rising again through the octave of colors, a sun shape rolling like a wheel of light. Commonly it is a fraction of a circle, a promise only partial, not a banal sign of safety like a smile pin, that rainbow cartoon affixed to vans and baby carriages. No, it promises only, this world will not self-destruct. Account the rainbow a boomerang of liquid light, foretelling rather that what we toss out returns in the water table; flows from the faucet into our bones; what we shoot up into orbit falls to earth through the roof one night. Think of it as a promise that what we do continues in an arc of consequence, flickers in our children’s genes, collects in each spine and liver, gleams in the apple, coats the down of the drowning auk. When you see the rainbow iridescence shiver in the oil slick, smeared on the waves of the poisoned river, shudder for the covenant broken, for we are given only this floating round ark with the dead moon for company and warning. § Marge Piercy In The hunger moon : new and selected poems, 1980–2010 / by.—1st ed.
Month: November 2021
In Thanksgiving
photo credit: FWStudio pexels,com
November: Bare, Not Barren
Death follows naturally from old age. For John, it was not to be feared. It would be “a very beautiful meeting between you and yourself” and there would be “a great fiesta time ahead.”
Walking in wonder: eternal wisdom for a modern world / John O’Donohue and John Quinn.
Safe Peaceful Strong Joyful
Meta
Leaves And Roots And Seedling Souls
If you find yourself in a heated discussion with your ego off on a crash flight, try imagining your grounding cord planted in the earth with Gaia swinging from it. Not only will the image return you to presence, but if you dress her quite outlandishly, the chuckle it evokes may change your mood!
Grab on Gaia To the grounding cord Of my being. Hold fast, swinging in circles That pull me down down down Rooting me in the fertile compost Of your faithful mystery. www.spiritualitywithoutborders.blog
Climate And The Common Good
In solidarity with the climate change summit, I offer this musing from a previous post. May we have a change of heart and habit.
“…This effect grants the power to cause a hurricane in China to a butterfly flapping its wings in New Mexico. It may take a very long time, but the connection is real. If the butterfly had not flapped its wings at just the right point in space/time, the hurricane would not have happened.”
http://fractalfoundation.org/resources/what-is-chaos-theory/
Down Here Wispy tendrils of hazy smoke from Canada’s forest fires Lasso branches of not-so-evergreens And the aberrant heat drapes its humid blanket over this bed We now must lie in. Over There Adam lies drowning In a pool of lethal despair While in Bahrain more mundane matters Press on Ahmad and the butterfly spirals down To The Boneyard of Indifference. ©Rita H Kowats August 3, 2017
The Light Bearers
Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Carry your light into the dark. Swing it wide Into the hidden cupboards Tucked away Under the staircases of our souls. Illuminate The shadows that loom And shatter peace By piece by piece, But gentle your swings- Don’t show us all at once Lest you send us scampering Deeper into the cupboard. Illuminate. Carry your light into the dark. Swing it wide Into the hidden cupboards Tucked away Under the staircases of our souls. Cauterize. Bring your light beside our wound To staunch the steady stream of negativity That threatens our well-being; A slow burn, endearing and enduring. Cauterize. Carry your light into the dark. Swing it wide Into the hidden cupboards Tucked away Under the staircases of our souls. Heal, Lightbearer. Ignite us with love And stoke it, until transformed, We bear the light to others. Heal. Carry your light into the dark. Swing it wide Into the hidden cupboards Tucked away Under the staircases of our souls. c. Rita Hemmer Kowats November 5, 2021
photo credits: Pexels.com
Holding Vigil in a Pandemic
Recently I submitted this video-essay to my faith community’s talent show. A friend suggested that some of you might relate to its message, so here it is. I think it may be especially helpful to those of you who suffer with a loved one. It matters profoundly if we are there with them in their struggle, whether or not they know we are there. Blessings to you. May we receive what we need this day.