Variation on a Theme by Rilke
A certain day became a presence to me;
there it was, confronting me -- a sky, air, light:
a being. And before it started to descend
from the height of noon, it leaned over
and struck my shoulder as if with
the flat of a sword, granting me
honor and a task. The day's blow
rang out, metallic--or it was I, a bell awakened,
and what I heard was my whole self
saying and singing what it knew: I can.
The Prayer Plant (Maranta Leuconeura)
The prayer plant must long
for darkness, that it may fold and raise
its many pairs of green hands
to speak at last, in that gesture;
the way a shy believer,
at last in solitude, at last,
with what relief
kneels down to praise You.
Poetics of Faith
'Straight to the point'
can ricochet,
unconvincing.
Circumlocution, analogy,
parable's ambiguities, provide
context, stepping-stones.
Most of the time. And then
the lightning power
amidst these indirections,
of plain
unheralded miracle!
For example,
as if forgetting
to prepare them, He simply
walks on water
toward them, casually--
and impetuous Peter, empowered,
jumps from the boat and rushes
on wave-tip to meet Him--
a few steps, anyway--
(til it occurs to him,
'I can't, this is preposterous'
and Jesus has to grab him,
tumble his weight
back over the gunwale).
Sustaining those light and swift
steps was more than Peter
could manage. Still,
years later,
his toes and insteps, just before sleep,
would remember their passage.
