Noon:
The People of Earth and Sky
He dreamed of Heaven, the land of owners and masters. He dreamed in circular time, from Heaven to Kingdom to Hell to Republic and back to Heaven; a wheel turning in place, causation linked into a loop. He dreamed of a Time-Loop, finite but endless, and within it Heaven, the zenith of order.
Heaven is happy and self-confident. Heaven is happy because it’s rich, and everything’s paid for. Heaven is truth known in time. It’s all about the joy of faith.
In Heaven, the police are English, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and the managers are Swiss. Heaven has Australian camaraderie, North American liberty, South American honor, Asian mysticism, European culture, African vitality and Antarctic splendor. Heaven’s religion is as ethical as Confucianism, as mystical as Taoism, as colorful as Hinduism, as compassionate as Buddhism, as passionate as Islam, as deep as Judaism, and as tender as Christianity. Its favorite sports are soccer and football.
Heaven is easy to endure, but hard to sustain. O ruinous rise, O wicked laxity, that turns a republic into a kingdom! Heaven has good neighbors, but they make bad fences. By excess of ease Heaven seduces the mind from blessed faith to accursed pride. Thus Heaven betrays itself, in the end.
That’s Heaven’s only vice; it ends.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Two people met by chance
at an unexpected time and place;
two people dropped their guard;
without plan
without path
without intention
they became friends.
The worker spoke first;
He said:
“I am Earth;
I ground, I support, I carry, I abide;
I am the power within myself.
See this world? I built it.
I created it out of faith.
I did not do it alone; others like me assisted.
I look on this homely world's homely inhabitants
their fond and familiar forms and customs
and I think; these too are me.
Through us, I am I.
Thank God I am like the others!
Through us, I raised the mountains;
I gave the sea its salt and the air its oxygen.
I fashioned the swallow's feather, tendril by tendril,
each cell in place, gene by gene.
I framed the tiger's fearsome symmetry
and I made the lamb too.
Whenever time is now, I am.
Creation creates itself through me.
I am the heart of immediate world.”
The student replied warmly;
she said;
“I am Sky;
I rise, I expand, I fly, I escape;
I am the power beyond myself.
See this world? I imagined it.
I created it out of doubt.
Did I do it alone? Are there others?
I look on this strange world's strange inhabitants
their weird and wonderful forms and customs
and I ask: am I also these?
I wonder; who am I?
What God for me, a doubter?
I wonder; what made this land, this sea, this air?
Once I flitted through a sleeping reptile's dreams
and its great-grandchildren grew wings.
I see the world in a grain of sand
and Heaven in a wild flower.
Whenever time is not, I am.
Perception perceives itself through me.
I am the soul of infinite space.”
The Earth Man laughed.
He had brown eyes, brown hair, brown skin,
brown work-grime ground under his fingernails
and deep into the creases of his callused hands.
He said, “Last night I had the strangest dream;
I dreamed of another kind of world
whose utmost joy is being free.
It was a land of good chaos
with incredible miracles of mysterious wonder.
The people's minds were open.
Science was art there, and answers were questions.
Students studied and poets dreamed.
The old were honored for their wisdom
and the young for their wit.
I saw people marvel at an ordinary bird
as though they never expected it to fly.
I saw heroes defy popular folly.
I saw fantastic menageries.
I dreamed of wild loves which last for a thought.
I dreamed of wild thoughts which amaze the world.
I dreamed of a wild world where life is a song.
A good world, yes! But not my own.
And so I sadly awoke to myself
And awaking, forgot the dream;
Only now do I remember it to tell you
for I see in your eyes
that I dreamed the very life you live!”
The Sky Woman sighed.
She had blue eyes, blue hair, blue skin and feathers;
a beautiful extraterrestrial.
She said, “Last night I had the strangest dream;
I dreamed of another kind of world
whose utmost joy is being true.
It was a land in good order
with credible reasons for its commonplace routines.
The people's bellies were full.
Technology was art there, and work was play.
Workers worked and teachers taught.
The old were honored for their experience
and the young for their energy.
I saw ordinary people board an airplane,
expecting it to fly, and it flew!
I saw saints assist the people, undetected.
I saw verdant gardens.
I dreamed of strong loves which last a life.
I dreamed of strong lives which restore the world.
I dreamed of a strong world where life makes sense.
A good world, yes! But not my own.
And so I sadly awoke to myself
And awaking, forgot the dream;
Only now do I remember it to tell you
for I see in your eyes
that I dreamed the very life you live!”
Somewhere at random
two people became friends;
A believer and a doubter
they saw in each other
a greater good,
another dimension of yes.
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