Sailing into Shabbat

Sailing into Shabbat

I.

I have walked
through the week
A land of
boundaries
conflicts
obstacles.
Not without
Beauty
charm
hope
But trudging,
walking
step
by
step
Climbing over some barriers
bulling through others.
Tired
Walking with resolute steps
but
Feeling collapse is near
Pushing though this landscape
landscape of nations
petty princedoms
endless bureaucracies
numb
caffeine powered
vibrating without
energy
vitality
strength
fading

In the twilight land
where sight becomes vague
my feet feel
a difference
sinking in
a trickle of sand
flowing over my shoe tops
my nostrils taste
a hint of salt
my ears sense
a distant rushing
a periodic flow
in
out
in
out
washing things up
carrying others away
at last
the gentle roar is upon me
my feet wet with the tide.

A skiff,
seen in uncertain
fraying light
I lie down
Carried out by the flood
up
down
crest
trough
flowing with the waves
each separate
each part of the ocean
up
down
crest
trough
until
at last
I too
am ocean.
I rise to my feet
knees bending
to match
the shifting of the world
I look out
a moon lit
shimmering seascape
no lines no boarders
the land distant
perhaps
gone

Hand upon the mast
I am rocked
as a child
upon her mother’s chest
rocked with her
breathing
in
out
up
down
crest
trough

In my rocking
my cradle of wood
and sea
and salt
and breeze
the Moon calls to me
I rise in gentle ascent
higher and higher
still feeling
the rhythm,
the breathing
of the world.

As I encircle
the distant Moon
paying her court
I look back
there is the Earth
Sea and land
separate
but one
The nations
bleed into each other
the land
merges with water
the water
merges with ice
All softened by
a swirling cover
of cloud.
Different
yet
the same
separate
yet unified
multiple
still one.

And,
returning to my slender craft
descending through cloud and air
light and fire
I return to
my floating splinter
To sail for a while
until
a new sunset
brings me to ground.

II.

Come, my friend
let us pray.
Let us flow
flow into
the larger stream
of being
as rivulets into a river
and
as rivers into the sea.

But I am blocked
occluded
I am in a narrow place
trapped
the well of my soul
is blocked.
I cannot flow out
I cannot delve in.
But
with you
with me
beloved friend
together
we can lift
lift the cover
of my well
then all will be well
With your help
with your love
we can draw me out
I can
at last
pray.

Because
you took me
as you found me
because you believed me
to be a soul
when I doubted it myself
I can
dip into
my soul
myself
and flow
into the greater stream
And more
I can draw from that
deeper well
The well of salvation
The deepest well
the ocean of being.

Come
beloved friend
Let us pray.

Photo Credit

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *