Saturday, December 24, 2011

Silent Retreat



















Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser



Sometimes you have to go

into your thick quietude

alone



Because no one

can meet the curve

of your words.



Seven billion people

and still so much

empty space

at our sides.



Winter is for teaching

about these things:



The sap draws down.



The herbal layer dies away,

making a place

for nothingness.



The cardinal

speaks only through

internal dialogue.



Snow can fill the

tracks of a deer in

moments

and only the

snow knows the

story that it has hidden

from the closed eyes

of the world.



This is a silent retreat.



Go then, this way…



Far within the bear’s den

where you will

hear your beating heart

echoing in all five chambers.



Speak nothing of the Beloved



until the Beloved has

your name.



Then, you’ll know,

emergence

is the only possibility.



~ Jamie K. Reaser, Author
Published in "Sacred Reciprocity: Courting the Beloved in Everyday Life" 

4 comments:

  1. Thank you Jamie for these beautiful verses ... and for an inspiring imagination regarding the five-chambered hearth. ;)

    Wishes for the gentle emergence for all of us 7 billion deer trackers!

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  2. Thank you Mirela. Squirrel blessings to you... ;)

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  3. Would you mind terribly if, as a "bear of very little brain" sometimes, I ask you to define / describe what you mean by "the Beloved"? You speak of this often, and I think knowing what you mean by it would help me to understand and enjoy your poetry even more.

    Thanks,

    Bill

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  4. Bill:

    Thank you for your question. I have posted a new poem in response - entitled, The Beloved. I'm sure that it will clear everything up. ;)

    Wishing you a joyful transition into the new year...

    Jamie

    ReplyDelete