The Ancient Modern
The Copper Chain / Joshua Alan Sturgill
I hear. This hearing makes me want to see.
And this seeing makes me want to know.
And this knowing makes me want to express.
But the delicate copper chain of awareness
may tangle or corrode or break:
I may hear and mistake hearing for sight;
I may see, and not understand;
I may know, but express inaccurately.
Patience and humility are needed first.
Then, gratitude and courage.
The Voice always speaks. Everything exists
as Word, warm, wet with Breath. Clouds
and mountains. Music. Sleep. Suffering.
The Voice speaks from the many-layered
Within, and from the hierarchy Beyond.
I hear. I half wake, dreaming. I attempt
to open my Eye; I attempt to open my Heart.
I know, and I want to become the Reply.
All poetry and supplementary material: copyright 2019 by Joshua Alan Sturgill
darklybrightpress.com 