no beginning no end

January 17th, 2018

Midstream
by Vicki Patschke

“So God, we . . . “
Every Sunday
our pastor begins the prayer
this way
as if already deep
in the middle
of a conversation
with God —
and we just joined in

I recall the words
of my Japanese calligraphy
teacher
the thick wet tip
of his bamboo brush
poised high above
a blank sheet of
rice paper —
The brush stroke begins
before
the ink touches the paper.

From invisible to visible
From silence to hearing
A message flows
through us
and we receive it
midstream.

“Blind Men Crossing the Bridge” by Zen Master Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768), ink on paper.
The poet is my cousin.

3 Comments »

  1. That’s beautiful.

    Comment by Clare K. — January 23, 2018 @ 5:41 pm

  2. And there I was, flipping through radio stations on the highway, when a voice (it sounded just like yours) said, “And it’s easy! Anyone can do it.” It was a gardening show, and I didn’t know what the caller was referring to, but I took it as deep encouragement for tending to my life.

    Comment by Kenzie Simpson — January 25, 2018 @ 6:23 pm

  3. Thank you for this beautiful poem!
    I will share it with my friends:)
    Thank you!

    Comment by eva — January 30, 2018 @ 7:54 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

archives by month