Sandals at the Gate

VII.  The dance of Sakti and Indra

Once…
Upon a long ago time
In Sakti's journey on to paradise,
There appeared Indra
Leaping like a spark from the shadows.

Indra's face was fiery, sweet

And tempting,

Like…
The taste of honey,

And his eyes gleamed brightly,
Shining like wildflowers
In their pride.
Blushing and feverish
With desire,
He bowed and kissed the ground

And Sakti's heart wept.

Sakti whispered through her tears,

"Tell me your name, that I may know your truth."

And Indra whispered,
    "My name is Celebration,
        Redemption,
            Desire"...

And he smiled
A telling smile

And his eyes laughed

Skillfully

As if to entertain.
Sakti looked but for a blush
Into cold November sky,

And said,
    "Love me! Love me
If you dare!"
Indra laughed in many colors,
    Spinning
Threads of
    burgundy and gold
And said,

"my favored one,
My sweet dew blossom,
Only by your pleasure!"
    An eternity away
A smile was born
There up in the heavens,
That today even illuminates
    the stars.

VIII.   In anticipation of stars
Tremble in the living fields.     Tremble on the cliff-sides.
For death has been undone,
    (And a child's voice
        Has been heard above the thunder)

"be it done with me as you say."

Love sits laughing
At the foot of the stairs,
    Laughing at moon beams
And stars in the dome of the sky.
She sings a song
    And whispers a prayer.

Clutching her breast with tiny hands,
Beauty feels star bursts.
    Across ten thousand thousand
Years and miles,

Piercing her skin,
    Piercing her heart.
The universe's child
Has called her name
    And clothed her in purple linen.

IX.   In the beating of wings
The secret lies
    (Hidden and warm)
In the palms of her hands;
The seed of expectation,
    Of new life,
        Of resurrection.
Even the stars whisper and dance
Upon her breast

"It’s time."

    There, in the tall grass,
As the sun sets
Upon a plentiful land...

    There in the tall grass
She catches her breath

    And darkness curls
           upon the celebrating ground.

Standing in shadows
    Before the dawn of mystery;
        Beneath the shadow of wings;
            Beneath the shadows of
Oak trees and memories,

Near the old stone hedges;
Where we honor old bones,

        "It's time."

The tall grass sings praises
    To new life,
        To new foundations.
Out in the lazy fields,
Where seedlings, 'neath
Bone bare feet
Reach out needy arms in praise,
Our life begins anew
    With promise.
        With hope.
In faith.

X.   Of the weeping of stones
Take me to where
The stones cry,
    Out by the tide pools,
        By the sandy shore.
There, at the foamy edge,
A footstep from abundance,

Beyond the feeding roar
They cry, longing
Longing in their thirst

(beyond all satiety)

To feel the waves'
Sweet kisses;

    O foolish Narcissus, why did you leave me?

Sharing sorrow with the moon
They cry, they share
Her need... strong enough
To pull the waters closer,

    Yet not enough
        To feed her,
            Not enough to touch

Nor draw her back
Into that womb
Where mountains drink their fill.

    O foolish Narcissus!

Take me to where
The stones cry,
Where the moon cries
Waiting for the tide
    To condescend
        To reach her...

Much too far away
To see herself
Reflected on the surface...

    Cradled and caressed
By kissing waves;

Much too far to hear
The great womb whisper
Of the greatest love.

    O foolish Narcissus, why did you leave me?

XI.  For covenants and promises
How full of yesterdays
You are...how
Solitary in this moment;
giving birth to tomorrows and
Tomorrows.

Onward,
    At the wing's soft edge,

Look there...the sweet
Soft, radiant dove,
pendent, in between
Currents at the crossing

Of east wind,
    west wind,

Old world and new,

Blue sky
    and watery horizon.

May this one comfort our sorrow!
    Zeh-yenahamenu.

Look there,
    leeward bound,
Seeking some lonely cliff-side,
    Some small island to rest the sole of her foot.

We painted our future
Somewhere

    between
The lush green life of
The olive branch
    and the fragrant sweetness
    Of the vineyard;

Between the receding
Waters of yesterday, and
The hillside promise
    Of burnt offerings.

Where is your refuge
Sweet solitary dove?

Somewhere is a clutch
Of straw, somewhere
    A place where leggéd beasts

May shuffle on the
Hardened ground;

Somewhere a place
    Beneath the singing stars;
Somewhere a place

Large enough

    To hold the promise of tomorrows.
In this moment
    At the wing's edge,
In this moment
    That spans from a longing moon to her reflection
The stars hold their breath...

And the waters pant
And gasp, pushing forth
Mountains to the surface,
    Striving and struggling
        To fulfill their charge...

Bear fruit and be many!

Let us stand,
As leggéd beasts,
Reverently at the strand.
    Awed beneath the cliff-sides,
Let us reach into the waters
    And draw the moon
        Into the palms of newborn hands.
Such sweet kisses on the shoreline.
Such sweet kisses on the moon face.
Such sweet kisses at the wing's edge.
Such sweet kisses...

Kisses large enough
    To hold the promise of tomorrows.

XII.  In answer to the question of colors
A spark, awakens to a soul aflame
Burning like a star at birth,
A color, far to bright to see
Or capture, like a painted sky.
Within, my heart

The whole creation shines and smiles
....are you ready?

Yes...I believe,
    I am newborn.
        I am clay.
            I am anticipation unfolding.

Whose tiny hand... ?

The child reaching in the dark
To caress a broken world.

    Will you love me?

Yes Lord...with my soul.
    I need... I love... you know I will.
For I was made for such as this.

Mindful of the sky's need
For an answer to its color
    A heart beats;

And a cry in chorus with
The stars calls us
    To our meaning,
        To salvation.
Are you willing?

In an instant of a gasping world
At daybreak, suddenly aware,
She holds him up in offering
    To the world… a gift,
And hope is born again
In a blaze of glory,
And in some brief eternity of moments

    The world is saved.

Tags: cantos, poetry, punkmonksf,