The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments

The stone tablets were
Laid bare on the hot desert floor,
Heat radiating off them
Unmercifully, their inscriptions
Indelible but their verses
Too radioactive for fingers
To trace and explore…
Their Commandments were
Simple, but the words
Interpreted so harsh, first
Given on the holy heights of a
Mountain, but carried
Back down into the valley
Where its gorge emptied into the
Yawning well of a parched fountain…
So rigorous the stone tablets
Seemed, so unyielding in
Their demands, so heavy to
Carry, so burdensome
On shoulders already
Stooped by the land…but
Then a new translation
Came along, the intent of the
Commandments still to be fully
Met, but the hardness
Of the tablets softened by a
Yoke of Love to help
Them to be lifted…as if
The Balm of Gilead was applied
Retroactively to when the
Tablets were first cast, and
Was now mixing with the Potter’s
Original ingredients – the
Yeast of the Cornerstone to
Secure them fast…

The Moment

As if on command,
An angel flapped her wings,
As if on command, another angel
Clapped his hands, and so
Light spread shadow-by-shadow
Across the dry valley, and
Wisdom shone where had stood
Desert sands…such a
Revelation, a revelation of
Almighty, moving might,
Given to ears that heard it,
Given to eyes which saw its form…
And given also when was thought,
“Is this real or is this not?!”

New Wine

New Wine

And so was heard,
“The yoke I give you is easy, and
The load I will put upon
You is light,” and across the
Waters and continents
Blew the Word, and at that
Moment the pansies
Knew by the new-fallen
Snow they would not be hurt…
And so they confidently looked up –
Easter petals lain up’n by an
Overnight, fresh snow –
Beauty gently placed
Up’n beauty, Love up’n love,
Divinity up’n divinity, and
Snowflakes up’n pansies from
Heav’n to earth bestowed.

New Wineskins

After the snow
Came the beauty, but I never
Expected it would be in
The form of words…But rather just
The honor of fulfilling duty,
But not the Balm of Gilead to
Assuage the hurt…

Blue Poppy

In perfect Beauty,
As if giving birth from the womb in
The Creator’s amniotic choice of heavenly-blue,
An effusion of stardust is caught
Beginning its eternal journey
To the undefined reaches of
Somewhere, shot from the muzzle
Of a blue poppy and giving an
Alter-story to the Creation
Saga in Genesis, and also portraying the
Big Bang as more gentle than the
Sterile hardness of mathematics,
But more like the softness found in the
Underbelly of nature, as seen
In the silent authority of a flower
Speaking without fear.

Abraham

Could a person ever
Possess the towering presence
And gravitas to “negotiate” with
God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of
Heaven and earth and all things
Beyond and beyond…?
The answer would seem a
Resounding, “Absolutely not,”
Because humankind has
Neither the eyes nor the ears
Nor the mind to behold
The essence and likeness of the
Lord God. In the minds of
Believers, however, if a name
Were ever to be humbly
Proffered forward to
Negotiate with God, it
Probably would be that of
“Abraham” – – considered
By scholars to be a common
Patriarch of Judaism, Christianity,
And Islam. And, in fact, in
The Book of Genesis,
Abraham is actually
Portrayed as trying to
Convince God (Yahweh)
To spare the evil towns of
Sodom and Gomorrah.
In a surreal dialogue,
Abraham asks God if He
Would spare the sinful towns
If there were only 50 just
Men living within them…?
God consents, and
Says He would do so…
Then Abraham takes it a
Step further, asking
What about if there were
Only 45…,40…,30…,20…, and
Ten just men…? To each
Question, God relents and says
He would spare the wicked
Towns. And so when the final day
Did come, and Sodom and
Gomorrah were destroyed,
There was only ONE man who was
Saved, and his name was “Lot.”
God drew the line in the
Sand at ONE just man!
This is an important lesson.
God is infinitely more
Compassionate, forgiving,
And magnanimous
Than we are, and in the
Book of Genesis all it took
Was ONE just person
To soften the heart of God.
And thus, the Creator is endlessly
Searching for that simple
Mustard seed which exists in
Each of us, and which
Has sprouted and flowered
Into a tree magnificent.
Today, there are examples of
Corrupted corporations,
Governmental organizations,
Institutions of higher learning,
Religious denominations,
And on and on, all of
Which have egregiously failed
Those they were serving.
This is a sad fruit of the
“Human condition” under
Which yoke we heavily labor.
Things are imperfect, very imperfect!
We hope for the best but
Sometimes get the worst!
The temptation is to
Throw the baby out with
The bath water! But to that
Approach, God disagrees…
In all things there is
Something good, even just
ONE thing! The story of
Abraham teaches this truth.
We need to be open to
The existence of good and
Nurture it like a dying ember.
All good can be made to bloom
Into something bright, and
We can be the ones to the breath
And loam provide…

Genesis

…And so, despite being
Sternly warned, Lot’s wife was
Turned into a pillar of salt
When she inexplicably looked back
At the very instant of
Sodom and Gomorrah’s
Annihilating destruction.
She was vaporized instantaneously
By a blinding flash beyond
All description, which ravaged
The land making it unrecognizable…
I have wondered if this infamous
Biblical story with all its
Wild imagery could somehow be
Applied to understanding
The importance of
Living in the present
Moment and not looking
Back at what we once
Had or knew in the past…
Because there is no surer way
For a heart to be hardened
And for lifeblood to be
Clotted and curdled
Than to excessively obsess
A real or perceived loss
Or unfortunate turn
Of events and to endure the
Ensuing fallout from the
Unbearable mourning
Or anger. We are intended to
Keep moving along our
Life’s path, just as Lot’s wife
Was admonished to do,
But she turned around — and
Thus she who was born of flesh of
The womb was transformed
Into immutable stone.
We likewise become lifeless
When we fixate upon
Something from our past,
Because, like it or not,
Our path is meant to be
Traveled, and stopping and
Looking back is an anathema
To Creation’s way of
Rounding, smoothing, and
Teaching us. In short, we cannot
Learn if we are frozen in
Time, and our eyes have become
Clothed in scales as if we
Stand motionless like a
Monument in Death Valley…