“Original Blessing”….a poem

PItcher of Moon, available from Createspace, Amazon.com

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Every so often, I get challenged by someone as to my religion. To me, religious or spiritual beliefs are personal, and I am not one to sally forth and try to convince anyone to believe as I do. Of course, this has led to much shunning and ridicule in my birth family. But they are extreme fundamentalists, and there is a heavy ‘hate’ issue (which is really fear) in their beliefs. I hope all these years I have lived have allowed me a more tolerant and broader picture of spiritual issues. I don’t go for dogma, whether it is clothed in liberal trappings, nor do I want to sit on a hard bench, or mumble prayers in devotion to some strange, dead prophet. But still….there is a pull towards gratitude. Sitting outside and watching the twist of huge oaks and pecans, the passing of clouds and all the bounty of nature pulls me into a profound gratitude for life.

Lady Nyo

“Original Blessing”

.
I am dizzy with love,
Standing in the rain,
This cosmic blessing
Pouring on my head,
Mingling with tears of gratitude
Til one stream
can not be deciphered
From the other.
.
I am an Original Blessing,
As are you,
And we are not born in sin,
But brought into the light of life
In great joy and anticipation.
.
Our first bellows are not of pain
But surprise at the roominess of the Cosmos,
As we kick feet, flail arms
And finally open eyes at the glorious colors
Of Nature.
.
Original sin would have us
Born rotten,
A theological monkey on our back–
But I know no God of the Cosmos
Who would scar these tiny blessings
With such a heavy burden.
.
Original Blessing is a deliverance,
A deliverance of hope, trust and pride
A heritage where we can discern and save
Ourselves,
Walk in harmony with the Earth,
Stride with God across the span of life–
For this Earth is our cradle,
And all in it our kin.
.
For a truly wise person
Kneels at the feet of all creatures
And is not afraid to endure
The mockery of others.
.
And when the day sidles up to night
I will settle into the nest of the Earth,
Draw the dark blanket of the Cosmos
Across me,
Pillow my head upon stars
And know the blessings I have been
Graced with today and always
Have come from the womb of the Universe.
.
Jane Kohut-Bartels
Copyrighted, 2012

Published in “Pitcher of Moon”, Createspace, Amazon.com, 2014