“Begin Again” — aka “after the exhale”
I
I search for and cannot find
the Great Way,
while its only-thing-here’ness
has never been more obvious.
But that’s not why I write this morning.
I want to make sense of the past —
the radical suffering,
if not mine now
then surely
someone’s
now.
The answer is always the same.
Silence.
Silence, silence, silence …
then a car horn. Then the banging
of garbage cans being emptied,
a bird of Bellingham spring,
the scratch of my pen on paper …
all excitedly announcing their place
in the family of things,
over and over again.
II
Silence is the answer, eternal
— is that not obvious?
is it not ready to devour these words
as soon as they stop
becoming? —
but also,
at the same time,
listen.
Listen!
Your life is calling you,
and it has never, ever
been a more perfect time
to say something
back.
III
Yes, you are it.
And, you are hearing it.
Just as you can touch your leg
with your hand, and be both
the one touching and
the one touched.
Hear yourself now, speaking.
And hear yourself now,
completely silent,
in between
the words.
— LB
ps first interview of season three recorded today, I’ll put it up soon