temple | To Create...

If given a chance
I would pare it down.
I would do it all over again,
heal keen wounds
carved to make me fit.

I would do it all over again,
heel when I come to titanic doors.
If given a chance at the pair,
I’d stay in sun, not enter shade.

A chance, if I was given,
I would banquet on each juicy pear.
Again, I would do it over,
He’ll welcome my redesign.

Under skyward arm of branches wide,
feet bared to moss and stone,
tides brushing sanded earth,
and air a swirl of life I’d stand.

This temple granted all,
no one left aside,
no one banished by belief,
or refused by creed or rule,
all embraced in gifts profound.

I’d honor bird and bee,
beast and human.
I’d honor me, formed in grace
in perfect flame,
one hand in Yours, the other open,
one path for all to be.

May all walls crumble into gravel.
May all breathe in the depth of You.
And may we, everyone together,
walk each other home.

Author’s Note:

Orlando.

Another one.

I am from Colorado and a first grade teacher, too many to list now.

I am tired of boundaries, lines drawn over and within religious belief systems. The whitewashing, justifications, excuses for the arming of those who live in fear.

There have been many touching, wise, angry, heartbroken words shared this week, much more eloquent than I can summon. They pass over me once again, yet not provoking change. The only thing I can change is myself.

A full Moon is Monday, the Summer Solstice. I join with others to welcome newness, wholeness under a moon given to all without sanction. I drop the conceptions of my past by embracing the new without fear. No more systems to alienate. No more boundaries drawn. The search is over.

I consecrate myself on a new path open to all.
I step into Oneness, Compassion, and Wisdom
under sky, feet grounded to earth,
in breath of air,
this temple given to all.
I honor myself as a mirror of the Divine in you
to recognize the Divine in me.

This is my chance to do it again, revised.

Lexanne

For more on this piece, please visit JOURNEY/lex. You can also sign up here to receive it weekly in your e-mail box.

Day Twenty Two
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Big Blue Bear

Sunday worship, a custom

child with hat and white gloves, black patent shoes
kneeling, hands folded, head bowed in supplication

guitars, women nearer the altar, kiss of peace

a pause, a long time gone

new words for old prayers, re-imaging Christ

no longer defined by Sunday or its tired form

In reverence of Redwood architecture
joining air to earth to that which lies beneath
I stand in awe of your strength
pay homage to your constancy

Three minutes down the city banded
alleyway, a wall to halt my vagrancy,
you press me to change my viewpoint,
look up instead of down, past high rise windows
my eyes ascend to glimpse a peek of sky where
buildings join air to earth
to that which lies beneath
In observance I discover
You are also here

Outside my glazed glass frame
a tree bows in reverence under snow,
crow, owl and squirrel, bees and spiders
await their spring ritual
Tree, oh Tree, you brush my face
in morning hello
tap my window in icy storm
wear that which I cannot control,
innocent release to what Is,
you welcome me to journey
enraptured I bow to You

Lilacs, lavender, iris
purple flora scenting air
fill my lungs with song
I chant Your being

In weep of rain,
I receive your indulgence
wash away quotidian dust
rain, oh, rain
a baptism of comfort issued
Your lullaby and caress

I fear of being homeless,
without a house to cover my form.
But You are home within my being,
a house not of cards to collapse
with slightest breath
but Spirit filled dwelling
where I rest and cry, sleep and love,
You place yourself within
to walk with me in holy sanctuary
all the days of my life

Leo was there to welcome him home,
a scrap from a letter, condolences from Pam
angel doggie card in remembrance of Bremen
canidae, anubis, golden wolf,
protector of graves and cemeteries
I celebrate your unwavering devotion
Dog and God

Magdalene, a most notable person,
not whore who washed his feet,
that image only for those who boast
of saving souls, condemning sinners,
I know you as woman of understanding
the one who saw, the one who loved
the one who believed
I praise your grace

I am not the Big Blue Bear
peering into the great glass cave
hoping to be welcomed into
a walled-in temple, a postcard
perfect invitation to entice me
into a rigid model of salvation,
I choose to step aside,
turn around to join those in dance
under clear blue sky, each a unique
expression of You reveling in
your liturgy welcoming to all,
your holy sacrament to make us One

There is no conspiracy to
make me think I am Beloved,
I am
It is maitri,
through my bewilderment,
I find compassion
In disorientation, harmony,
with my befuddlement,
I am re-written, turned,
and in gratitude I accept me
I am Yours eternally

Author’s Note:

Click for how this poem came to be!

What I’ve used to create this piece:
Almanac Questionnaire
Weather: rain
Flora: lilacs, lavender, iris
Architecture: Redwoods
Customs: Sunday Worship
Mammals/reptiles/fish:
Childhood dream:
Found on the Street:
Export:
Graffiti:
Lover:
Conspiracy: not being beloved
Dress:
Hometown memory:
Notable person: Mary Magdalene
Outside your window, you find: my Tree
Today’s news headline:
Scrap from a letter: Condolence card for Bremen from Pam
Animal from a myth:
Story read to children at night:
You walk three minutes down an alley and you find: Wall
You walk to the border and hear:
What you fear: Being houseless
Picture on your city’s postcard: Big Blue Bear