Most of All

Most of all, I

quiet to hear my sons’ laughter but snub the marching band

tongue spicy sweet cinnamon though disdain rare truffles

climb to sight the far sunset  and turn away from the road

yearn to listen to the poet but don’t hear any king

lean to smell the hyacinth though not costly perfume

reach to kiss my lover’s hand but ignore the silken gown

chant the trope of psalms but refute the tyrant’s rant

kneel to drink clear water but am not sated with Champagne

stretch to grasp my toes far longer than to hold a torch

pray for my grandchildren’s health rather than myself a longer life

seek my worth as a seashell more than all the gold in the world

 

Just a thought 55

 

Photo of seashell courtesy Pixabay

 

 

 

 

The Greater Humanity

 

We know who we are by the silence around us

We know who we aspire to become by the pulse within us

We know the sound of footsteps by the memory of those who came before

Listening immerses us in the universal mass

Keeping quiet allows us to hear everyone else

Remaining still informs us that we are not alone, thank God, we are not alone

 

Common choir makes all languages one word

Dance corpus combines all movement into a single motion

Every tongue longs to taste a sip of water gathered from the ancestral spring

Closed eyes reveal stock dreams of flight and sanctuary

Thoughts of love blend every sense into a solitary embrace

Holding hands reminds us that we are not alone, thank God, we are not alone

 

We remember who we are by the footprints of the billions and billions

The ones who hunkered in the trees, the ones who crouched in the caves

The ones who paddled across the seas, the ones who climbed the peaks

The ones who trudged across the deserts, the ones who tramped the jungles

All of them with the single wish to give all children the future we cannot see

Bowing our heads teaches us that we are not alone, thank God, we are not alone

 

Just a thought 28

 

Drawing of Vitruvian Man courtesy of Leonardo da Vinci, around 1490