DE DEUM
(TE DEUM On the occasion of a Tridentine Mass at the Abbey)
They call me “God.” What a word? Some call me Ganesh, Shiva, Kokyanwuti, and “Father!”
Well, I did make that perfect girl with child-
So, father
I Am!
And such a Son
I Am.
But these words- God, Purity, Father/Son- what do they mean to Me?
Better SILENCE from you about Me and My Doings.
Pure Spirit
I Am.
Better you focus on being yourself kind, patient, merciful, humble, honest, brave, loving, wise and just- And BELIEVE that I want that-that that’s what I require.
Better you focus on being yourself kind, patient, merciful, humble, honest, brave, loving, wise and just- And BELIEVE that I want that-that that’s what I require.
Quiditas
(‘Honest’ especially, since lies are the language of the Prince of Lies and his cruel humor at your nearly infinite capacity to delude- yourself! The appearance of holiness, the sounds of holiness are not holiness, for example- Only you and I...)
I blew the stars from clouds of gas
fragile as blown glass
I am the ‘Maker of Worlds’- even your precious, lovely, lonely earth with all its biology- (Keep it well, for I will remember your Doings...)
I caused the Branes of Being to touch- Magnificent Moment of Eternity- I Am.
So, you “go walking by the River, the beautiful, beautiful River...”
I’ll be there too
Frogs and turtles
Trees and streams
I’m there,
with you!
I’ll ‘lift you on angel’s wings’
Son or daughter
Daughter, son
‘I’ll fly away, fly away Old Glory’
You say,
I say
Stay,
Stay with Me.
Here and Now
I’m all there is.
I’ll show you
I AM the ‘Furthest Shore!’
Stay with Me and mine
With Me there’s always
MORE!
Steve Frost 2012
Chama Canyon New Mexico
Also Visit: PAEAN'S SONG, A Diagnosis
Philosopher's Stone
The image above is a copy of a Michelangelo drawing. I believe its turpentine washes on board, about one foot by ten inches and I painted it as an exercise around 1970. At the time I was fascinated with the English and Italian Renaissance and the periods before and after. As an art and literature student in collage, it was easy for me to focus on those areas with time and some depth. I've forgotten most of that by now, but it helped form my inner life with its inner life and provided solid foundation for later developments. One advantage out of this approach to knowledge is a resistance to fashions in politics, art or religion. If we are left-wing one decade and right-wing a couple of stones down the road, we might be missing the point of a stable world-view. It is good to appreciate the positive values of Middle Ages and Renaissance. But it is also well to appreciate the positive insights of the serious Reformers, the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution- as well as the cultural commentary from the 1960's, (It wasn't all free sex, flowers, drugs and war...).
Well, I'm preaching to the choir! I hope you enjoy this poem and its two images. All the best,
***
The Reverend Stephen Frost PhD
The University of California, Berkeley Site: http://ecai.org/NEPSIS/
