Creation
September Sunrise
Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park
Click for meditationRegarding "September Sunrise"
In truth, it is impossible to describe the
Mystery and wondrous effect of the sunrise
Which unveils Itself daily before onlookers
On the summit of Cadillac Mountain in
Acadia National Park. In fact, during certain months
Of the year, it is this location where the
Sun first appears on the horizon in the entire
United States, and which is so amazingly
Spellbinding in the glimpse and insight it provides
Into the overwhelming magnitude and
Majesty of the universe, and of the meaning of
The Word of Creation as found in the
Book of Genesis. When the photographer for
This poem speaks of the early moments
When the sunrise began to unfold, her eyes
Immediately spark alive with shining light, as if
She herself had captured a bit of the sun,
And within her it now eternally resides…and so,
It is her eyes which can speak best, because just like
With Saint Paul, her uttered words pale compared to the
Glow of the yellow and flame-orange red…
Leo Carroll
October 7, 2018
As if it was the first sunrise
E’er to be seen, rose up before the old
Mountain a burgeoning glow of
Ancient hues in a spreading
Smile unveiled, a widening expanse
Of yellow and flame-orange red…
All resulting in a deep longing, and beheld
By wondrous faces with bated breath.
What eternal yearning, what
Instinct from the collective subconscious of
Primeval yore, what was being
Unleashed with such hypnotic power
O’er those who watched in awe…?
For it was as if they stood millennia ago —
At a cave mouth looking up — and the
Rising sun told them that ahead was at least
One more day, in a land wild and raw,
With terror and beauty tangled in
A tandem yet to be explained.
Looking towards Sand Beach and Beyond…
Click for meditationRegarding "Looking towards Sand Beach and Beyond…"
I frequently
Speak about my
Pilgrim’s path, the
Trail I’m on as
My youth learns
It won’t last.
The longer I live,
The closer I am to dying,
And the more I hope
My path has
Somehow
More time…
And so I muse if
I might have
Multiple, serial
Forms of existence?
I must, such is
The staggering
Amount of
My shaping and
Smoothing yet
To be done, and all
I need is to
Look at Acadia’s
Sand Beach — and
See the pinprick-sized
Remnants of
Seashells, and
Realize Creation’s
Tides will wash me
Until Kingdom
Come…!
Leo Carroll
November 16, 2018
I see the deep, and if
I can e’er reach it beyond the rocks,
Then maybe into its blue
Arms I can dive and sleep…
Returned home after
Millennia of seemingly
Endless searching,
My pilgrim’s path finished,
My tired feet no longer thirsty…so
Tantalizingly close but still
So far away, because
The remaining steps of my
Path are destined for
A finely sculpted copse
My walk must enter
Along the trail…and then
Onward to a beach, itself
Formed of infinite, miniscule
Pieces of seashells, each
Shell’s journey incalculably
Longer than mine,
Literally grounded into
Smithereens, and the length it
Took not e’en known
By Time…
Jordan Pond
Click for meditationRegarding "Jordan Pond"
This poem is using
Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park as
A metaphor for each one of us.
We have the ability and the
Potential to be beautiful,
And in that beauty, to be a gift
To those around us. The
People who walk the trail
Around Jordan Pond are
Stunned by its magnificence,
And yet it is so small, just like we are!
We live in an overwhelmingly
Complex society, and
We can easily get lost and
Disoriented in the immensity
Of everything going on
Around us…but we have
The potential, just like the
Night’s countless stars,
To individually shine. In the
Poem, the “Almighty Sky”
Reminds Jordan Pond about this,
Telling the pond to be
Thankful for the role given it
By Creation, and not to
Want for more, nor to worry
About having more, nor anything else…
Just like we ourselves are supposed
To be — to recognize our
Gifts, and to know we have
A unique role in the happiness
Of Creation.
Leo Carroll
November 14, 2018
It seems to be flowing,
Moving towards something special,
Parallel trails of bubbles
And foam implying a tidal-like
Current, cold and deep,
Pristine and blue-green,
Amazingly clear as if it was the
Crystal ball of a seer,
Trying to reach some
Mythical place, where its
Stream could join with something much
Bigger. . .all while its smoothed,
Ageless stones whisper,
“Where is the ice of the
Primordial glacier which we once
Embraced, where is our
Eternal Mother, our Father,
Our Brother, our Sister?
And where is the sea,
The sea, that teasingly-close
Amniotic font within
A raven’s call or a
Mariner’s league or
Just beyond the tallest tree?”
And then across the
Water a breeze stills, and
Become calm all the pleadings…
“You’re a pond!” speaks
The Almighty Sky. “Not every
Melancholic yearning can
Turn into the reality to which a
Limited vision clings…
Be thankful, because around
Your banks I have put countless people,
And your role is to bathe
Them in Beauty…”
Yarmouth Heaven
Click for meditationRegarding "Yarmouth Heaven"
The Kingdom of God
Resides quietly within us, but we do
Not have to search very far
On this earthen plane to see
A physical replica of its ramparts,
Or to experience its
Transformative peace.
Such manifestations of the
Kingdom occur around us in
The day-to-day beauty of Creation,
Even in a photograph of the
Beauty of Creation, such
As when I was recently shown a
Picture of a wonderful
Vista in the Cape Cod town
Of Yarmouth. Beauty
Is certainly in the eye of the
Beholder, and the eye
Which took the photograph
Saw it…and thankfully shared
Its splendor and heavenly
Message with me.
Leo Carroll
October 3, 2018
And so there in front of me —
Pink-sprinkled rosa rugosa — that sweet,
Wild shrub which blooms best
At the edge of a salt sea…and then
Beyond it, a sailboat at ease,
With a channel buoy guiding blue
Waters into the safe sheepfold and harbor of
Psalm Twenty Three…and then e’en
Further beyond, in the perfect image
Of September on ol’ Cape Cod,
A little beach beckoning, hoping in
Awe my thoughts to pause.
The Universe’s Manger
Click for meditationRegarding "The Universe’s Manger"
Seeing the
Beating heart of the
Baby robin was like looking at the
Beating heart of
All of earth’s life –
Every life, every heart, all
Combined into
Just one life, one
Single, big beating heart,
A composite heart, and
All shown to me
From my living room
Window, where a
Robin’s nest
Was but bare
Inches away in
A boxwood shrub,
And rather than having to
Travel to strange
And exotic
Lands in search of
Strange and exotic life,
All I had to
Do was to peek
Through the glass and
See the embodiment and
Meaning of all life,
Any kind of life,
Wherever it
Resided in this
Universe, and it
Was safeguarded in
Front of me by
A mother robin,
Which humanity would
Zoom light years to
See, if it was ever rumored
To chirp on another
Planet’s rock.
Leo Carroll
May 16, 2018
Is there a life
With more meaning than
Yours? Is there pink
Flesh I should more honor
In awe?
Is there a heart
Which sweeter, lighter beats?
Is there a clearer
Chirp of born again, new
Beginnings?
Is there a season
Which comes with gladder
Tidings? Is there a
Warmer nest to soothe
Robin’s crying?