See if this helps:
Christ is a fisherman
whose nets are cast nightly into
the sea of non-existence,
pulling haul after haul
of shimmering beings
out of the abyss.
The seas are black as ink,
the waves like rolling hills
of liquefied obsidian,
impenetrable to plain sight,
but the nets emerge from the deep
full of wriggling, unspeakable colors.
We were each caught like that,
scooped out of the darkness
in nets woven by angels,
hauled up to the light of day.
And for what?
some ask.
The audacity of the question
is eclipsed only by the audacity
of Life itself.
Is it not self-explanatory
to see the
impenetrable
untouchable
electric
magnetic
genius
non-conforming
preposterous
fluid of existence
whirl itself into a skin
that reflects the light
in every direction at once?
I think maybe
the catch-and-release part
has proven a tad disconcerting.
Recognizing that every skin
is but a passing word
in an eternal conversation,
we peer over the side of the boat,
losing sight of beauty’s enduring premise,
waiting our turn, petrifying in place,
unable to see beneath the surface,
squinting, gasping in panic
at what can never be seen.
We play organ music
and stand at attention
when a faded dollop of color
slips over the side.
We forget the two worlds
are interwoven,
each reaching into the other
like hands held in prayer.
It’s a false divide,
this here-there mentality.
For some, this culture of choosing sides
has become a tad theatrical.
If you happen to look up
from the next bagpipe procession,
you’ll see Hafiz has set up
a folding table on the poop deck
and is taking volunteers for tonight’s
combined plank-walking
cannon ball competition.
At dawn, Christ will be offering
lessons in the art of pearl diving.
Beings without misperception,
experienced travelers like these,
are the stitching together
of both worlds.
They are clasped hands.
See if this helps:
Buckminster Fuller
once wrote that
our ancestors
were sea-dwelling beings,
and that our evolutionary path
involved learning
to carry the sea inside us
wherever we went.
I think,
at least as a starting point,
that sums it up
quite nicely.
