Thank you for listening and letting me know you like the audio, Looocinda! I spend so much time reading the poems aloud while I'm writing them that recording them usually comes pretty easy.
Ha! After my special request for a 6:30am publish time, I'm finally getting to this tonight. There's been just a bit going on in life this week...you know what I mean...so I appreciate this poem all the more. My dear friend singing still, loving still, in the dust particles dancing in the sunlight (or even on my dresser, like Barb says?) When I heard it read aloud by John tonight, I thought Aha! I bet that's what's awaiting me on substack! Beautiful to hear aloud at Ash Wednesday service as a preview. Thanks for sharing.
There's so much to love in this piece: poem and and background alike, and especially "How bad was it, really, to be tiny and frail and mortal on the skin of the universe?"
Lovely piece. As one who is “recovering” from being bashed over the head with shame and guilt with a biblical flair, I appreciate biblical language with one’s personal spirit…thank you for sharing this!
Thank you for reading it, Brian. That kind of bashing can be hard to recover from; you're generous to approach a piece like this. I'm glad there's something in it that speaks to you.
Dominicans are happy at Anglican High-Mass or Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy -- and ecumenical with the Bhagavad Gita, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad, Middle-Way (Madhyamaka) Buddhism of Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti . . .
David Hume wrote the "Treatise of Human Nature" -- which Immanuel Kant called the "Copernican Revolution," underlies the best in 20th and 21st century epistemology. The Treatise is based entirely on empiricism.
Which led the great theologians -- Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich -- to disavow any vision of an afterlife.
So your vision seems to be the right one:
"Look at the persistence of these dust-motes, dancing before the altar of God. Look at all of what God keeps raising up to praise the light; and yes, it falls away, and then look, God raises it up again, dancing. God loves the dust, each mote alone and all of them together. To God, the dust is not nothingness; to God, it’s a partner in the dance."
Thank you for your reading and your learned response, Armand. I took a hard turn from philosophy and theology into poetry many years ago, so I can’t quite tell if we’ve come to the same conclusions on the poem’s topic; but it seems to have given you something to think and feel about, so it did its job. Deep bows to your scholarship and to your kindness in replying.
Once again, so loved listening to the poet read her “Ash Wednesday “.
Melodic, hopeful and truthful.
So happy you have continued. Your voice enriches your written words!
Thank you for listening and letting me know you like the audio, Looocinda! I spend so much time reading the poems aloud while I'm writing them that recording them usually comes pretty easy.
I’m reading this too late for Ash Wednesday but right on time for me. Just beautiful with unexpected hope.
So glad it found you at the right moment, Sharifa! Thank you for letting me know.
Ha! After my special request for a 6:30am publish time, I'm finally getting to this tonight. There's been just a bit going on in life this week...you know what I mean...so I appreciate this poem all the more. My dear friend singing still, loving still, in the dust particles dancing in the sunlight (or even on my dresser, like Barb says?) When I heard it read aloud by John tonight, I thought Aha! I bet that's what's awaiting me on substack! Beautiful to hear aloud at Ash Wednesday service as a preview. Thanks for sharing.
So much love to you and your dear friend. 🪽❤️
Poems will be up at 6:30 every Wednesday from now on ... ready to read whenever you have time.
There's so much to love in this piece: poem and and background alike, and especially "How bad was it, really, to be tiny and frail and mortal on the skin of the universe?"
❤️
Lovely piece. As one who is “recovering” from being bashed over the head with shame and guilt with a biblical flair, I appreciate biblical language with one’s personal spirit…thank you for sharing this!
Thank you for reading it, Brian. That kind of bashing can be hard to recover from; you're generous to approach a piece like this. I'm glad there's something in it that speaks to you.
Never thought of dust that way. My house is a House of God.
Auntie B
Isn't that a consoling thought?! ❤️
Thank you for opening my Ash Wednesday/Lent so beautifully.
Thank you for reading and praying along with me, Shari! ❤️
Your faith and conviction moves me.
Dominicans are happy at Anglican High-Mass or Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy -- and ecumenical with the Bhagavad Gita, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad, Middle-Way (Madhyamaka) Buddhism of Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti . . .
David Hume wrote the "Treatise of Human Nature" -- which Immanuel Kant called the "Copernican Revolution," underlies the best in 20th and 21st century epistemology. The Treatise is based entirely on empiricism.
Which led the great theologians -- Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich -- to disavow any vision of an afterlife.
So your vision seems to be the right one:
"Look at the persistence of these dust-motes, dancing before the altar of God. Look at all of what God keeps raising up to praise the light; and yes, it falls away, and then look, God raises it up again, dancing. God loves the dust, each mote alone and all of them together. To God, the dust is not nothingness; to God, it’s a partner in the dance."
Thank you for your reading and your learned response, Armand. I took a hard turn from philosophy and theology into poetry many years ago, so I can’t quite tell if we’ve come to the same conclusions on the poem’s topic; but it seems to have given you something to think and feel about, so it did its job. Deep bows to your scholarship and to your kindness in replying.