Shepherd

gathering the sheep,
the unquestioned beliefs,

gathering them one at a time
to name, identify

yes, dear
yes, child
yes, lambkin
tell me everything, your story,
until you have no more to tell

i go to the bottom
of this pit
with you

it is  not a bottomless pit

there is light
at the end of the tunnel

yeah, though i walk
through the very darkest valley
in the shadow
of death and destruction...

there is not one thing
to fear
but a misinterpretation:
faith
in the absence of light

can it really be
that what stands under all this--
understanding--
is missing?

that the Origin of all that is
doesn't exist?

fancy that!
the dreamed up
thinks
it is the dreamer!

the dreamed up
sees a chaotic flurry
because it itself
is a mistake

the game
taken to be serious

napping on the couch
prehistoric dinosaurs
still maul me
and i have to run...

from nothing at all!

nothing at all
no thing
at all

every fearful thought
claims "i am God and 'i' exist
apart from everything"

look now
upon your sons and daughters,
grandchildren,
babies...
everything you see,
the meaning you give it

would you
in this moment
mother love
tranquility
laughter
immaculate conception
purity in heart
true love

or

nuisance
annoyance
irritation
arrogance
flaw filled emptiness
missing everything?

this moment
you are wholly free
to be Heaven

or
stand just outside the door
and look longingly into the store window

Child, I am you
 always