Poets stand vulnerable
naked of syntax rules
vulnerable to context
open arms
celebrate
emotional continuums
grounded in printed imagery.
Time to dress.
Clothed in reason
circumstance fabricated in pockets of theory
methodological layers of connections
discriminations pattern the clash of
racial colors
arguments well ironed into the seams.
Questions shiver for another layer
to cover the naked pilgrim
or make hot and uncloak
the dressed scholar.
warp me in your social definitions
until I can no longer breathe
regulate me with your legal jargon
until I have no space
box me in your psychological labels
until I have no identity
and then
educate me in your written histories
until my life extends your own.
The Irish and other Celtic clans people had many symbols, rituals and ceremonies that have been incorporated within Christianity, originally assimilated to bring the 'primitives' into the Christian fold. Many of the original spiritual intentions and functions of these rites are lost to common knowledge; the wrapping of gifts, the evergreen banners, the fires, ornaments and lights on the evergreen tree, and much more each have detailed meaning and function within various Celtic tribes, as well as other European tribal communities. Every December, these appropriations come together to form the materialistic secularized holiday that Christmas has become.
Pagans plays mystic hide-and-seek
around the economic gift wrappings
evergreen branches of earth ceremonies gone by
Bright ornamental orbs void of prayer dangle from
strings of light multi-colored missiles
warp ancient hearth ceremonies that celebrated
the longest night of the year.
Yule logs burn out sacrilegiously
before dawn's first glow
no thought of the Goddess birthing the new Son
- not the son of Christianity
with shepherds in September fields -
the Son of cycle, Son of seasons,
conceived on All Hallow's Eve
birthed by the fire ceremony of Lamas
forgotten under the snow white beard
of the 20th century Coca Cola Christmas.
fill all free time
avoid the burden of optional
death in life
protest life and laughter
heal others while
stopping the flow
to one's self
now
remove leadership roles
quota deadlines
projects and flow charts
eliminate volunteer demands
shut off the mammoth world
alone
consider the stranger
She cowers under the tree
sound of the car door ajar plinks
lapses into memory of a day gone by
twisted her life within a moment's shadow
woven into the present
she returned to the source to relive
memories of her dress torn from her body
the passionate anger in his face
ripped her soul to shreds
pieces of yesterday intermingle in today
to let go of tomorrow's sorrows
humiliation creeps, claws her everyday existence
shatters her up to this moment
strength wells up
uncloaks the fear
under the tree in the park she sits,
against the trunk, unfolds her arms,
reaches to grasp the night's shadows
watches the moon dance through its leaves
the eerie effervescence of the small cove
back to the moment where her breasts lay exposed
her nails sunk into hard ground
his thrusts repelled her power into the dirt
her blood stained the stones with silent prayers
to God who's saintly ears were full
she stands slowly and walks to the spot
legs moving involuntary
mind screams breathless and clear
heart erratic, breaks from its shallow grave
she lies on the spot and looks to heaven
accosting breathed deeply within
returns her to her self silent screams broken dreams
she lets out a primal cry
exposes festered wounds
heart mind essence
freed reconnected
the wind carries her screams away
as she breathes herself into today
i saw God today
languished against a filthy wall in a back alley
alone and barren of spirit
enthusiasm wet His lips as
alcohol fired His throat.
He said nothing; figured no one would hear what He had to say
nor take what He had to offer
unaware i was ready and willing to receive
but i did not know how to communicate with Him.
i saw God today
She cowered in a deserted doorway, invisible in Her actions
filled Her needle with prayers
tightened Her divine trappings injected Her arm
replaced the worship of the old tradition,
ancestral voices echoed inside her head
She lived in secondhand ecstasy, Her forgottenness.
She spoke to Herself; she did not know i could understand
but i did not know how to meet Her.
I saw God today
Splayed across the sky as the sun rises
a timelessness forgotten in daily schedules
humankind asleep to the birth of this day's mystery
I knew how to communicate with my eyes,
my heart, and my pen.
