After the rain:
blue sky shining
pine needles shining
yellow willow branches shining
water droplets on moss shining
stones in river shining
ripples of water shining
waterfall on canyon wall shining
pools of rainwater shining
tears on my face shining
Everything is shining here
Look, there…
Among the dry stones
rainwater has collected
into a pool.
A single yellow leaf
floats on the surface.
The stones are round
from a thousand years’ travel together.
The water is perfectly clear.
Look.
Do you see?
None of this was arranged just for you.
Stones, water, leaf…
They have been doing this
since the beginning of time
and they will continue
until the end.
This is God, being.
You can walk on,
unaware…
or you can stop, and
wade in.
After the rain
Blue sky shining
Pine needles shining
Yellow willow branches shining
Water droplets on moss shining
Stones in river shining
Little ripples of water shining
Waterfall on canyon wall shining
Pools of rainwater shining
Tears on my face shining
Everything is shining here
When I go to the river
I wander among the stones
mouth open
eyes on the ground.
Each stone is so lovely in its own particular way
and yet so much more beautiful with all the others.
Try this:
Set four perfectly round
black and white granite stones together, and
see how lovely they are, in their sameness…
But now, try this:
Place, in close proximity, stones that are:
Porous pale green with dark blue-green spots,
Rough black and white checked,
Shining gray with one white stripe,
Smooth charcoal with lightning veins of gray,
Rough gray and white checked,
Porous dark green with veins of darker green,
Silky smooth blue-gray,
Porous reddish pink with grains of white,
Smooth blue-green with swirls of brown…
Oh these are but a few,
and when you place them together
(as has the river in its glorious artistry)
you see what the world could be.
You see how it is the differences
how it is the differences
between the stones
that make beauty beyond compare.
When I go to the river
I wander among the stones
mouth open
eyes on the ground.