Lens
by Jason Motsch
I see the patterns repeating themselves,
following their own seasons within my being like
a reflection of the leaves falling into an autumn-bound lake
within the woods at the end of summer where the turtles
sense the oncoming winter as a phantom ghost.
Then I come marching along with my backpack and my
specimen tubes, gathering samples from the terrain,
from muddy waters to rocky soil to thriving leaves, to take
them home to be put under the microscope.
I see the organisms within moving, struggling, and I
am in awe of their strength and beauty, living alongside
all of the molecular structures, trying to steer clear of the bacteria.
But the black bugs of disease are still present, trying to further
the trails of internal dischord.
It is only by viewing them through my various lenses in the dark
on the night of my spirit that I am able to let go of them
and let the forces of my inner cosmos deal with the vagabonds
of my existence, flying through meadows
of soul flowers, taking nectar from each one where God's love
flows free and divine into my spirit, nurturing the body and freeing
me from old ways of living from inside out.
Birds break free from earthbound nests and soar in to the air
singing songs that light the entire spectrum of feelings with
colorful sounds.
Happy with my work, and like any good scientist,
I now submit my findings to prestigious journals but
in the end, the most important judge of these things
is my point of awareness,
the one that is free of concepts,
empty of descriptions,
bereft of patterns,
and devoid of attachments and desires.
It lies like a deep under ground cavern at my core that waits
to be discovered.
I will dig as far as I can.
Leaf
by Jason Motsch
I hold a trembling leaf in my hand
And with faithful abandon cast it to the wind.
The forge within is shaping the blade
Which is to carve a whole new sculpture
In my soul.
Further along the wooded path
The wind returns the leaf with a gentle gust nestling it in the branches
Of a nearby tree.
My spirit melds with Creation,
and flies to the air above where it
Sings with the birds of the sky.
The terrain below is a patchwork quilt
Of blessings and life.
I see the earthen vessel that has been
carved by the Unfolding- my life, my words,
My song.
Tree, forge, wind and dust now mingle
and begin to stitch up wounds godly within.
The throes of birthing pangs give way
to a new life envisioned in the reality of now.
Waters rush through the cascading fires of yesterday
wearing away at the canyon walls and forming new streams
that feed the Ocean Light.
I am a thing of the sea and breath in the liquid like
the holy eucharist of old, inebriated by the blood of Christ.
The mercurial ichor flows deep through the cosmos and I am but a drop
falling endlessly through space and time.
There is a quilt of stars reflecting the earthly foundation below.
And above, beyond, yet still within it all,
Is the nameless, endless, timeless
Source.
Love Took a Walk
by Jason Motsch
My fingers pour forth ideas that
grow in the city gardens,
tended by a faery kingdom that illumines the
branches overhanging the blossoms on this night.
My mother sits on a park bench and
guffaws at jokes the winged little beings delight in telling.
I see her there, her peasant smile,
heart shaped face,
loving countenance beaming with joy.
She picked a flower and had one of the faeries
deliver it tonight to me.
I didn't know that I was
sitting only a few blocks away from her until
my loneliness sprang up like a cold damp cave in my spirit.
But suddenly I heard barking and there was our old dog.
I took her for a walk down the street and saw my mother and
felt her joy for my life and being alive again.
She multiplied into ten of her and gave me applause for how well she thinks i am doing.
She gave a thumbs up for my partner and said to give him a hug.
I left her there and she will be there until i want to go back and visit again
or until the faeries send me another note of mystical grace from the creator.
Love took a walk from heaven to my heart to this poem tonight.
Reading
by Jason Motsch
Confronting the demons within,
Man becomes afraid.
It is everywhere and nowhere.
The fruits of the mind are endless,
splashed across the Universe
like the stuff of creation.
Some call destruction by myriad names.
Others call love by a meadow of light flowers,
Infinite and eternal.
I choose to be a harmonious bird instead of
a broken piano.
A gear in the cosmos' clock instead of
a rogue atom.
I suppose human kind will always have turmoil.
I'll continue to open the curtains in the morning and
let the sun shine brightly on my soul,
sipping a cup of coffee, and reading myself
into the day, becoming one with my creator's world,
as it is meant to be.
