ERLEICHDA

It is a quiet
delight
to see that
being divine –
as are you,
by the way –
doesn’t diminish,
by a single iota,
the unobstructed
pleasure
of the coffee
that rests,
warm,
in my Special Cup
that says
ERLEICHDA
on its side,
which means,
I am told,

Lighten Up.

(ERLEICHDA: a word
from Tom Robbins’
Jitterbug Perfume.)

 

Your Beingness

What if
this Sunday morning,
because
the First Church of
The NBA Playoffs
is an afternoon service,

you wandered into
the First Church of
the Creator of All That Is,
out of curiosity or
old habits,

and you found
the choir loft filled
with angels.
Cherubim and seraphim,
and all manner of
celestial beings,

singing
your praises
and declaring
their adoration of
your beingness,

because,
as you
may have heard,
back Home we
are called
The Beloved Ones.

 

In On the Joke

It appears to me
that we arrive on
the Planet as
adventurers from
Paradise,

where we have been
schooled in
the Arts of seeing
the Invisible, and
assembling
the Implausible into
everyday miracles,
using ordinary
Magic and
a highly developed
Play Ethic.

Only to be
instructed that
we are here to
grow up, to
adopt Work as
our Ethic, to
leave behind
the Invisible,
the Implausible,
the Magical,

even if the
40-hour workweek is
mortally wounding
the Earth,
and causing us
to require
40-hour workweek
therapists.

That renegade prophet,
Jesus of Nazareth,
went about teaching
free classes in
Becoming As a Child Again,

but I guess
they thought he was
joking.

Lucky for us
there are always
a few who
are in
on the joke.

(Photo by Edi Libedinsky, UnSplash.com)

 

Circus Clowns and Voodoo Selfies

If you are
preparing yourself
to enter
The Mystery,

the Place where
you might discover
the whys and wherefores
beneath the platitudes
that are draped over
the word Love,

the Place where
you might experience
a revelation of the reasons
it is essential that you
honor your preference for
This and Not That,

to mention just
a room or two of
what’s in there,

a word to the wise:

For the Love
of God,
if you’re looking for
a guide,

don’t hire
a TV evangelist, or
a drill instructor, to
help you march
your way in.

Consider hiring
a circus clown or
a five-year-old with
an Invisible Friend.

And, for goodness sake,
when you’re asked for
photo ID,

be sure to show them
that selfie you took
at the voodoo shop
in New Orleans,
not the head shot
they took at
the DMV.

(Photo by Nuno Alberto; UnSplash)

 

The Mystery of Iridescence

When a painter
looks at a
blank canvas
are they thinking

“This sure could use
a paint job, plus
I’ve got a tube of
acrylic red I don’t
want to go to waste?”

Or, are they thinking of
how to paint
The Mystery
of the iridescence of
a hummingbird’s throat?

I love to imagine
the Creator
bubbling into
a billion
Painters of Mystery,

but this morning I will
be glad to just
sit here, grateful
to have awakened
thinking about
iridescence
and not the need
for paint jobs.

(Photo by Paul Bonnar, UnSplash.com)

 

Free Legal Advice

It’s high time you
faced your accusers,
even if you’ve only
imagined them.

One way or another
you believe
you are being
examined and judged,
before a jury of
your peers.

What are the charges?
Count 1:
A real man would be
outdoors, hammering,
not sitting on the couch
with a pen and
a composition book.

Or is it something
much worse, like
Failure to Master the
Mechanical Arts,
because you were reading
“Catcher In The Rye”
when your dad was
changing the oil in
the Electra 225?

Here’s some free
legal advice:
Stand up, right now,
turn and face
the jury.

Plead guilty,
pick up your
composition book, and
walk out of the courtroom.

It turns out you’re
free to go.
They can’t hold you.
I don’t care what
you were told.

 

Peculiar Fire

If you awaken
to find yourself
in the dark,
lost in the Wilderness,
and, worse,
surrounded by the
Wolves of Work,
the predators of
What You Should Be Doing.

Remember:
you’ve been given
a box of matches,
custom made
to light your
particular
peculiar fire.

Strike a match,
fan the flame,
warm yourself.

Ignore the wolves,
they won’t approach.

Daylight will come,
you’ll know
where you are,
and the Wolves
will be revealed:

Sled dogs, guide dogs,
protectors, companions.

You’ll know how to
care for them.

(Photo by Jannik Selz, UnSplash.com)

 

Measuring Devices

When you measure
your Self,
what sort of device
do you use?

A mirror?
You’re joking, right?
That’s like measuring
the speed of light
with a random
bit of string
you found in
your pocket.

Your To Do List?
Your Tax Return?
Your 5-Year Plan?

For God’s sake
I hope it’s not
someone else’s
Instagram.

Think of the
last time you
laughed yourself
breathless.

Now use that
to measure
the silliness
of measuring
your Self.

(Photo by Denis Agati, UnSplash.com)

 

Show Us Some Skin

Most often
when you hear,
“You know who you are,”
it’s an accusatory
finger pointing,
perhaps at you,

intended to pierce
your anonymity
while allowing you to
preserve it.

But for a moment
I want to seize
that non sequitur
to say this:

You know who you are.
It haunts you
like a mirage,
doesn’t it?

It’s no accusation,
it’s a prophecy
that clothes you
like your skin.

You know who you are,
Beautiful One.
Now show us
some skin.

(from a photo by Luana Azevedo, UnSplash.com)

 

Cooler Than An iPhone

I have reason
to believe that
Love is
the default setting
on your
Operating System.

So, if you find
yourself a little fearful,
scrolling through your
available apps, like
the Love Your Neighbor app –
maybe, like me,
you’re inclined to
hide from your neighbors –

be a little adventurous.
I’m thinking about
trying it.

Just start the app and
follow the prompts.
You don’t have to know
how it works.
After all, you are
cooler than
an iPhone.