this journey is for the fearless

I would love to offer up an audio version of this piece, but am on the road and making do with what I have. I am in the North Bay area above San Francisco for a while, if anyone would like to host a poetry reading or other gathering where I could share my Work with appreciative folks.

Upon this chalice your name is written,
And when you are ready to hear the chord that sings your song
The container will disappear into nothingness and everythingness
And you will submerse yourself in colors no other can see

You will feel an infinite spectrum illuminate you from untold directions ~
You will not know their names, even though they know everything about you
Every thread you have woven, every stitch dropped,
Each step gingerly stepped or faltered, every word and thought and terror
A glimmer of incandescence will ignite a symphony in your soul
that will never again be quelled

In that universe that rests outside of time
You will remember the cadence of your still-beating heart
Your arms will move in a dance long delayed yet never forgotten
No matter what you believe you know or do not know how to do,
It will be done!

Within this chalice dwells your personal grail
And in this moment, this everlasting Now
As the needle falls into the groove,
Each fragment in the container will assemble in reconstituted wholeness
Every sliver that once stood apart in holy isolation, joins in sacred union
Shards that once pierced your heart in woundedness now spoon
in gentle reverie and stem the ancient bleeding

Indulge your unassailable desire to take the deep dive
To plunge into the murk of uncharted waters ~
The darkness is but another side of the light!
Shed your armoring, your presuppositions
And walk hand-in-hand with your fear trembling and indefensible
Revisit your pain and suffering for the very last time
Plumb the depths of the unfathomable loss and grief that no longer hold you captive
That will never again define you

The mind is a ruthlessly territorial and power-hungry puppeteer
whose strings are out to snare you
Remember!
Entanglement is not a fruitful evolutionary pathway
And when you have disengaged with all that seeks to suffocate,
You will return topside newly wrought and likely unrecognizable

This journey is for the fearless!
Trust your heart assiduously
Never forsake the opportunity to weep openly
Reach for a loving embrace from whatever tree or four-legged or two-legged is near
Choose unity over separation, integration over polarity, energy over form
Take time and space to focus on your emergent self and your deepest needs,
And skirt the cries (spoken or silent) of those struggling to stay afloat ~

Within this chalice is your elixir of life
What you do with it, and when, and why,
is fully up to you

This journey is for the fearless!