The Worst Thing… and The Best Thing

The following is a poem by Esquina Poetica

The worst thing we ever did
Was put God in the sky
Out of reach.
Pulling the divinity
From the leaf.
Sifting out the holy from our bones.

Insisting God isn’t bursting dazzlement
Through everything we’ve made.
A hard commitment
Not to see
as ordinary.
Stripping the sacred from everywhere...
To put in a cloud man elsewhere.
Prying closeness from our heart.

The worst thing we ever did
Was take the dance and the song
Out of prayer.
Made it sit up straight
And cross its legs.
Removed it of rejoicing.
Wiped clean its hip sway,
Its questions,
Its ecstatic yowl,
Its tears.

The worst thing we ever did is
Pretend God isn’t the easiest thing
In this Universe
Available to every soul
In every breath.

This poem so touched me that I wrote the following poem in response:

So the best thing we can do
Is let go of the fierce clinging
To the lie...
To release the fear
of not being in control...

The best thing we can do
Is open our eyes,
Unfurl our chest
To face the unknown
With wonder -
And let the residue of constriction
Fall into the earth
Through our blessed feet.
One with all.

The best thing we can do
Is breathe
Full and free
And like the Lilies of the field
Surrender to the wisdom
That moves through the sinews
Of our fabric.
Inhale the pristine prayer
Of innocence
And dance our
Magnificence into beauty.

The best thing we can do is
Forgive the pretense
That has blocked our pores
And clenched our fists.

The best thing we can do is
Let the tears flow into the
Weary, dry tributaries of being
To call forth the verdant
Juiciness of spring
Singing in our veins.

The best thing we can do is
Give way with grace to
The exchange
Of living and dying.
To savor the expanse of communion…
Unbroken.
Unspoken.

The best thing we can do is
Absorb
The sacred silence...
That nurtures deep remembrance
Of joy unending.

The best thing we can do is
Let go of the reins
That drive the illusion.
And finally,
finally.
Breathe into
And with
God.

The best thing we can do is
Remember
That The Creative Source
That sets the Universe
In Motion
Is God -
Is Love.
And yes
“It Is available
To every soul
In every breath”.

What if it could
Be this simple?
What if it could
Be easy?

The best thing we can do is
Give it a try.

Amen.