I see the hawk take flight. She soars
into the ether as the life source thins,
twirls and swirls and raises her head
to the infinite.

I walk, heel meets concrete, gravity’s pull.
Foot rolls to toe lifting. Heel down and leads me
along a cobbled path to the door whose key rests
in my palm.

I watch the beta. Tail and fins a fine ball gown,
flutters iridescent. The sun’s finger grazes
the water in the small bulbous bowl perched
high on its shelf.

My lips part and his breath enters, I live.
An aromatic elixir surrounds my heart.
Exhale and I exit into the world.
Yahweh.

.

.

.

Author’s Note:

Our homilist today during mass at the Church of the Holy Family, ECC, was a young man named Ryan Taylor. He works with Mile High Ministries in Denver and is the director of Access and the Network Coffeehouse, “…a place where the middle-class can interact and build genuine friendships with those who dwell on our streets.” It is amazing work he does with the homeless and it was a passionate homily.

Ryan spoke to us about our names, street names of the homeless, God’s names for us, and ours for God. I was struck by his telling of the name Yahweh. Breathing in we can feel the natural breath of God as we say “Yah” and breathing out He leaves naturally in the “weh.” I will never utter His name again without holding this in my heart.

Along my journey of discovering the Gospel of Thomas, Yahweh’s breath wove itself through Logion 3 and, hence, the above poem.

Thank you, Ryan Taylor.

.

.

.

.

About the Gospel of Thomas:

Digging deeper into the Gnostic Society Library and two other translations they offer, I am now drawn more strongly to the translation by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson:

(3) Jesus says:

(1) “If those who lead you say to you: ‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky!’
then the birds of the sky will precede you.
(2) If they say to you: ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fishes will precede you.
(3) Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and outside of you.”
(4) “When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known,
and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father.
(5) But if you do not come to know yourselves, then you exist in poverty, and you are poverty.”