Ah, my dear, you come in so many disguises.
When I feel the end is near, that is you.
When I look at the stars dressed in black, that is you.
When I hear the crickets chirping, that is you.
When I see the eyes of my lover, that is you.
When I hear heavenly music, that is you, dear.
When I see a picture of Hitler, that is you.
And that is me.
And when i say "you," that is me.
I have no idea what I just said!
When I'm rushing to meet a deadline, that is you.
When I'm full of joy, that is you.
When I'm full of despair, that is you.
When kindness is there, that is you.
When rigid intolerance is there, that is you too.
You come in so many disguises.
You come in my tea cup, swirling in the tea.
You come in my beautiful cat,
swirling in his fur.
You come in my mother, with eyes a-blue.
You come in my friends, with eyes true.
You come in my enemies, with eyes false.
You come from everywhere.
Even me, this little blob,
you are here too. So much.
You are here in the sky.
You are here in the meadows.
You show your face everywhere.
And yet we are always looking for you.
Where are you? we say.
How can you be indifferent to the tragedies and pain
going on in this world?
But you showed up as Mother Teresa, didn't you?
You showed up as Jesus, didn't you?
You showed up as Saint Francis, didn't you?
You showed up as the Buddha, didn't you?
You showed up as Mohammed, didn't you?
You showed up as Lao-Tzu, didn't you?
You showed up as my next door neighbor, didn't you?
You showed up as me, didn't you?
I fall down before you.
I fall down before myself.
I fall down before the mystery.
I fall down before the mystery that I can't understand.
I fall down before your heart.
I fall down before my heart.
I fall down before our heart.
I fall down before the heart.
I fall down before us.
I pray that I may see you everywhere, always.
I pray that I may see you in this moment,
in your disguise, disguised as this little moment.
I open my heart to you.
We open our heart to you.
We open our heart to ourselves.
We open our heart to each other.
All the same.
I bow before you/us/them/whatever the name.
I'll say it this way, I bow before you.
I bow before your sublime, mysterious way.
I bow before your beauty.
Even the horrible beauty, you're still there,
aren't you?
I love that you/we/us/them exist.
Or, to put it another way, I love only you.
Only you, sweetheart.
Because you're all that exists.
There is nothing else but you.
In a green meadow, I love only you.
In my children, I love only you.
In my wife and husband, I love only you.
In my thoughts and stories, I love only you.
In my idiocies, I love only you.
In my failings and imperfections, I love only you.
In all of me, I love only you.
In all of you, I love only you.
Only you, love. Only you.
—jim sloman, 5/24/01 for May 24
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