Journal/ Day 4/ Switzerland Via Alpina

Switzerland 2022

July 4th

Prayer

Rain falling upward
as clouds loom beneath me.
Mountains moved the sky
as the sun began its search
for a doorway.
Silence played itself so longingly,
I covered my ears.
Is this real?  Is this a fantasy?
Is this___________???
This is prayer…yes, it is what
words no longer invite in the moment.

The cascading waterfalls,
every pool of water~~~prayer,
living itself out loud.
No antiphon,
No refrain, no passages
—a rhapsody
—a musical unwritten
Note after note after note.

I ‘almost’ begin to cry.
To you, mid-wife, I give,
I offer
the essence of my ‘soles’ every step.

So often, stopping—I look, what’s to say?

All my words
throughout my lifetime,
have they meant anything?

If I cast them ‘into’ the subtle breeze
hovering on a hawk’s outstretched
wing…
Oh, if the majestic bird carried them all
Away…
Would I then grasp the meaning,
the fullness, the simplicity of
Prayer?

Drums begin to beat
—the vibration washes upon me like a
wave carried upon the sea.
Light imbues the space.  Now,
thunder beats upon drums
not only one, or two, or three, or

I cannot see the player.
I tap my foot…is this prayer?

Yes, yes, yes,
All these words.

I’m back above the clouds.
What I no longer see below,
gives prayer permission
to come to life.

A new Gospel,
Each of us a living testament.

I now close this prayer
In silence…

Good night