Mountaintop

What did you see,Martin,on that balconywhen they took your life?Did an angelcome to take youup to Heaven?Or was it justdarkness?They say Sinaiwas shrouded in smokewhen Moses ascended.Were youshrouded in light?Your commandments werefar better and worthierof a sweet chariotto carry you Home.Those of us leftto wonder are wanderingin a wildernessof doubt.Where did you go,Martin?A day is

Fullness

Full the moonand full the Kiddush cup.Walking homefrom the synagogue,I’m full of challahand the rabbi’s wordsabout Genesis whenthe universe wasfilled only by chaosuntil creation pouredinto it relationships,connections like wineor milk to givemeaning to oblivion.Stars, headlights,billboards flatlyilluminated by aglaring need,a craving forsomething out of reach.I try and greeteach person I meetalong the wayas I would wantto

Roots

Reaching out like halfunderground tunnelsfrom the toweringtrunk to the rich, dark earth.Birthing ten thousand leavesfrom rivers of rain—Moses and the Nile,the Tree of Life—no skinning knife couldcut these roots,these almost muscular legs,covered by bark.They have been herefor the darkness.They will be herefor the light,long enough to seethe arc of many sunrises,many uncaged birdssinging from the

Christmas in a Cathedral

Our backs are turnedto the streetswhere the homelesssleep in tents.Clouds of incensesurround the priests,and the choir singsof Immanuel.If God were with us,wouldn’t s|he want usto go out on Christmasand give unconditionally?The congregants kneel.A child fidgets.A woman rolls byin a wheelchair.Statues of angels sit,going nowhere.The crucified Christ hangs,her|is metallic skin glistening—an idol by any other name.When

Stay Inside

Stay insideyour power,your love,your passion,your sense of beingsafe to live your truth.Take shelter inyour uniqueness.Wrap yourself inthe realization thatyou have an importantvoice and placein this worldno one else has.Celebrate yourselftoday and every day.Light a candleto evoke the loveglowing inside youand stay insidethe halo of that love.

Hope Floats

Past is the distancewe’ve walked to arriveat where we stand.Future is the sky’s expanse,full of what rises abovethe rocks and sand.We may have stumbled.We may wanderedinto mist and shadow.But as long as we liftour eyes to the cloudsand imagine how to fillourselves with hope,we can float acrossall obstacles below.There is room for usto fulfill our

Behind the Mask

Who are webehind the eyes,beyond the body?What is itmoves us?Where are we—authentically—if our flesh isalways changing?Is there an essenceinside us ofpure brilliance?Maybe there’s moreto us than can be defined.Perhaps behind the maskwe’re beyond beautiful.

Where We Belong

We have itin our hands—the future.We reach forit each daylike flowersreaching forthe sun’s rays.We each havea say in whatit means to us,can find a placewhere we meetthe future withopen eyes,open arms,open hearts.The future belongsto no onebut is wherewe all belong.

Spirit Inside

Do we wait to findmeaning or do we offerit up to the worldaround us even whenthat world seems tolose its sound and sense?We have a world insideus full of significance⁠—of dreams and myths,histories and experience.Many have sat in gloomycells and spun the gossamerthreads of hope out ofapparent nothingness.We have more inside usthen we may think

Like a Pearl

Do we find ourselvesat the edges orin the middle?Inside, our inner truth(ready to be revealed)waits like a pearlinhabiting its shell.We are not merelywhat lies on the outside,not the watery reflectionothers see and tell uswe must be for normalcy’s sake.We can pry open the layersof expectation to uncoverour most radiant selfwho—deep down—we’ve always been.