Poems – Page 78 – Generous Wisdom

little gurus (II)

My monastery is rich
with little gurus. They run
to the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen;
they call me to the toilet, the bed, the table.

Before I’ve prepared their dinner
they call for dessert; before
I’ve prepared their bath, they call
for the stories. Time, time,

Time is not my own.

My little gurus come
to me each in their own time
and with their own teaching.

My ignorance is revealed
not by my reflection,
but by their own actions.

I hear in them my voice
and see in them my face,
and know what I should change.

My world is so close.

So tiny. So right before my eyes.

It is all little grabbing hands

and chubby feet and

eyes, noses, mouths,

bellies, arms, and legs

that all need loving, and I forget

to see God in it. I am forever looking down and in.

II.

In the vast expanse

of the horizon line,

in a surround of grass and forest,

in fields, on mountains, and shores,

I look up and out always

and am freed into a new perspective

and a new love of the old old God.

III.

I want to look up

when I look down.

I will see trees and sky

and vast expanse when I am nose to nose,

when I am lathering, rinsing, drying,

diapering, dressing, zipping.

When I am adjusting socks and fastening shoes,

I will look up.

When they come to me crying,

wailing, screaming, yelling,

I will be in awe of God’s power

to create such multi-faceted, complex beings,

and I will see their eternal souls

and I will see the God that they are a part of

when I look down, look over, look into

their sweet sweet eyes.

I will.