Tuesday, August 30, 2016
"Creek Water" (poem by Dorothy) and Thoughts on Climbing the Mountain
Creek Water
Tumbling and shouting
like clowns
being poured out of
a barrel,
the creek is in full riot gear,
with a sound track
like an orchestra
tuning up
for a big performance,
harmonious cacophony
of individual voices,
heedless
of whether
their own matches the others
or not,
unconcerned with what audience
might be watching
or listening,
whether they are happy
or sad,
whether they notice
or are unmoved.
Underneath it all
the plunk, plunk
of the steady
bass, somehow holding
the ensemble
together.
like a conductor
beating time
with his baton.
Light streams over the surface,
pieces of broken glass
shifting in patterns
too quick to comprehend,
a mobile artwork
that defies
interpretation
by its swift changes.
At times, you need to let go
of all your puzzlements
about the meanings of things,
what it is all about,
why things went askew
when they did,
who you might have loved
in your life
if you had met them
in time,
and just sink to the very
bottom
of this well of stillness,
endless quiet
of not asking,
with only the many throated
voices of the stream
leading you deeper,
into the untranslatable
silence
of this,
the moment revealed
at last.
Dorothy Walters
(new book: Some Kiss We Want: Poems Selected and New
See also Facebook where you can reply to post)
I wrote this poem a few years back and discovered it again when a friend reminded me of it only yesterday. And yesterday was a special day indeed, for a friend drove both of us to a nearby canyon where in fact the creek water was "tumbling and shouting", "in full riot gear." For me, it was virtually a mystical experience, reminding me of the deep nourishment that nature affords, and, again for me, how much I miss having this connection available in my life (no car, no way to "get out" of the city into such magical settings except when others provide transportation now and again.)
We saw several climbers ascending the steep canyon walls, apparently without any ropes to support them, but then I learned that they have a special technique to rope themselves as they climb. As I understand it, they reach above their head as far as they can, drive in a piton, then, removing the previous piton, affix a new length of rope above then climb up to the level of the one they have just staked in. It occurred to me that this way of ascent is much like what we do in our own spiritual progress. We prepare for and then move up to the next level of awakening, then, after we have reached this stage and integrated it, repeat the process to the next level. Always there is something that is invisible to assist us and hold us safe as we move to the next stage. It is a steady progression, each arrival getting us ready for the next inner opening, in a process that never ends. There is always more mountain to be ascended, more miracles to occur within, as we each constantly progress in our mutual transformation into the divine human.
Blessings to All
