and then there he is
bald bearded Brother Nathan
greasy and foul, spouting
dyspeptic stuttering nonsense
eyes darting, cheeks twitching
smiling dead unsmiling falseness
visibly worthless, emotionally corrupt
always the layman the world around
still god grants me mercy, says
as only he or she can
you're not that important
even beasts not that loathsome
shows me the big darkness
where you and I are weightless
the other voices, shapes
holding no thoughts
the humble floating self
in touch with the One
compass point bouncing
and again smiling
I suppose the next evolution
is to become giant beasts, confused
trusting only one's own braying
all elk horns and shaggy necks
2011
I'm proud of you for sharing such a vulnerable piece (hell, for even letting yourself write it). And it's really good, like really really. XO
ReplyDeleteThank you. I REALLY wanted to get a second opinion on this one before posting it LOL. Kinda proud I went ahead and did it anyway :)
ReplyDeleteHaven't done 4-line stanzas since my last "Brother Nate" type poems in August. I guess when I'm reckoning my own squareness, that's the form it takes!
Chilled me, Nathan, chilled, really nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading. Chilling too that it's much the same as the vision Krishna gave Arjuna to justify war.
ReplyDeletecombination of restraint mixed with a rushing flow of underlying questions pulls the anchor from what we think to understand
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your perspective, and I appreciate the image of the anchor, which invokes for me the kinds of self-critical thoughts and feelings that weigh me down some days, keeping me at once adrift and frozen.
ReplyDeleteAnd to me the elk's braying is indeed an image of understandingless knowledge, an unrestrained questioning need inexpressible in words, known only by the sound of mad, woolly bleating.
holey moley, I don't know what to say...
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the read, and thanks for saying :)
ReplyDelete