after each meal service

i wash dishes
for an hour, more or less,
i do not mind the dishes
they must be washed
this occupies the body
yet my mind is free
to wander and hold conversations
while my hands hold the dishes

i pray
for humility and patience
while washing dishes
for hours each week

my mind writes poetry
and stories and turns of phrase
while my hands wash ceramic

the poems wash my heart
as they occupy my soul
while soap and scrubber
occupy my hands

it is not unusual
to drop a dish
sometimes they break
while others clatter and spin to rest
either way
i laugh at my carelessness

passage temporeal

sweeping veils of desert sand
blind all eyes to guiding hands
through the ages
war over lands
incessant rages
brother against brother
witness the sages
we cite too well the dawning page
years again era
place of Pharaoh
golden face of Zion's dome
Truth in peace
asleep in Rome
alight the gilded hearth of home
of the family chosen whom
ordained in name
ascend the throne
their reign a fleeting mourning dove
as high tide, and low
Yet light and love
for knowledge, riches, glory strove
conquest by sword and bullets shone
in greatness and in grave are known
each imperial life a tome
and to each
an end is come

Alpha Omega

staring into the rock
saw the sea

staring into the sea
saw the fishes

staring into the fishes
saw the root of reeds

staring into the reeds
saw the bird

staring into the bird
saw the wind

staring into the wind
saw the breath of the sun

staring toward the sun
was enjoined by spirit

seeing with the spirit
saw All as One