Imagine the skin of the first human. Then think about our modern skin. What is the difference? Both beings are human/humanoid. Do each feel differently, in that experiences vary? Are there similarities. Then there is “light.” For good reasons, throughout our species’ history, the sun has been worshipped, welcomes, and worried about. In recent weeks (seems like months), our little corner of the world has experienced day after day of overcast skies. We yearn for light, and when it comes, we feel better, softer, more agile and resilient. The human race is relatively old; the sun ancient beyond comprehension. When the skin of a being meets the sun for the first time, something magical takes place. Please read, open-hearted, and enjoy.
Old Skin – First Light
A mercy of storms skids east river’s course
Snow dreams drift taller than crooked fences
while meadows grow back over everything
Under surfacing sun, milky beauty lies prone
naked except two silver rings
her ancient body – head, heart, and limbs
where ruddy blood endures within
wrapped tight and rich in primal skin
never to be so ripe again
The after-truth unfurls stunning secrets
Time spirals up in smoke and flame
ancient language lost, then unearthed blood-stained
Wings whisper branches singing her bones alive
again sparked from existence lead in gloom
the lock seals the great closed circle
last winter’s story finished and
sheltered in a mossy tomb
Yearling wolf rolls in deepening wood
Now
woman and wolf
just arising just this
vastness
pure senses’ presence
gripped gently by north wind’s teeth
Now
wolf and woman
just arriving only this
enter pleasure enter pain
all are one
all the same
riddle out the nascent names
An ancient sutra from deep time unfreezes
resolutions, as all who see fall to knees
then bare feet on pilgrimage out that is the pathway in
trod on fresh auburn soil, uprooting black stones
tectonic rumbles – not one churns alone
Frogs chant under cattails – wild roses shimmer
a finch flutters above a red deer
a yellow flash – then both disappear
Woman shivers under sultry sun
stars fall to warm her – all doing done
the burnished unexpected surges up
conjured from blooming incense, a prayer
a salute, a golden cup, a kinetic flame, a knee, all doubt erased
First breath joining
koans unwinding
colliding firestorms’ mortal sin
deep time ambers now– begin
begin
begin
Background:
One day, a long time ago, I considered the interconnected nature of all life, including nonsentient beings that some peoples believe also carry a life force. As I looked deeper, somehow, I got in touch with the interpenetrating, unobstructed process that fires everything. One flower. A river passing. A leaf falling. The experience was more profound than sentimental nor was it filled with false self-importance. I have attempted to capture some of that experience through images – and there they are again – metaphors.
Exploration #1: Is the juxtaposition of the woman and the wolf justifiable or is it just a poetic trick of unusual image?
Exploration #2: The center of the poem is chaotic in opposition to the stanzas above and below. Can you interpret why the poet used the chaotic form in the middle?
Exploration #3: “Begin.” Begin what?
Your Monday Poet, Jack Pine Savage
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