Brian’sPoems

Essential Mystery

This life is not so tenuous
as it might seem.
And yet there is reason for such fear,
held in our bearing witness to death,
in our inability to control others,
in our desire to know,
and in our lack of faith.

A bird in a cage
loses its essential flight.
Similarly we imprison ourselves
with one image of God,
and in so doing,
leave Mystery behind the walls.

I have witnessed men and women
groan in their discomfort,
push back against their pain,
and at last collapse
when the door is flung open,
allowing Mystery to wash over them,
while holding their life and death
in a creative tension.

Some day that door
will burst open for us all.
We will not need to force it,
because a graceful wind
will push it for us.