Atonement

The vanquished overtake the victors,
who seem to have taken on
their characteristics;
should I choose enemies
as carefully as friends?
When man assaults woman
or parent batters child
neither heaven nor hell forgets.
Did I sin for want of love
or was I a narcissistic cad
enacting depraved indifference?
My crimes were real in every role, but
I tell you I was seduced
by mermaids promising relief
from my own pain
even eternal pleasure
who led me out and away
beyond safe behaviors.
Nearly drowned I did!
Shipwrecked I found
atonement
the gateway to ascending:
I felt the agony of others
and my own
in what I'd done and failed to do,
in what they'd done too, and not;
a most painful journey,
yet scenes began to emerge whole
and vanish
the more I told the truth --
often into ecstacy --
leaving this understanding:
no one does anything to anyone.
Like puppets with boundaries
needing to lose them,
we play out our dramas
and wait for a savior to discover
a hole in the grid,
before we crucify him.

---

Life Experiencing Itself

Following Ayn Rand, some critic claims
an avatar only has power
to the extent he is believed,
without considering the same
might be true of him

And so the eternal game continues:
life experiencing itself

Orchids bloom,
bees make honey,
thunder breaks

All of us have been in places
no sane person would choose;
mystics say life experiencing itself
is the purpose

And that the avatar is born,
or becomes, so emphathetic
he is able to experience, undergo anything
and transform mind and matter,
bring forth life from death

Critics secretly believe he negates
their own discoveries;
they protest, watching from a raft
at risk of flooding:

Life experiencing itself;
from mist to shining river,
egg to feathers
flying with power,
seed to ancient stick.

The poet Rumi calls it creation dancing
in a passion for God

---

One sailor's tale of atonement

When a man batters a woman
or cheats a friend
neither heaven nor hell forgets.
Was I weak for want of love,
or want of power?

My crimes were real, but
I tell you I was seduced
by bottled mermaids
promising release from my own pain,
even eternal pleasure,
who led me out and away
beyond safe behaviors.
Nearly drowned I did!

Like the sailor who has never seen land,
I was waiting for a saviour
to discover a hole in the grid
that held me captive
so that I could return home
after I crucified him.

Shipwrecked, I discovered
a bridge back to life.
I began to look and see
and felt the agony of others
in what I'd done and failed to do,
in what others had done to others, too.
I made amends as I could.
A most painful journey,
yet scenes began to emerge whole,
and vanish; friends returned,
enemies became friends,
and I became a seeker of nothingness,
with this understanding:
after all is done and seen
on land and water, under stars and sun
no one does anything to anyone.

---

(Copyright 2005 by Joneve McCormick - No reproduction without express permission from the author)

Letter to the Author: Joneve McCormick at mjoneve@earthlink.net

---