Hello Gravity

 

“The Falling Rocket” by James Whistler

 

we infer the invisible
entity gauging its
quiet behavior by
watching the telltale
of sensible things
learn the steps of the
dark matter dance
from the heat of
the beat of a starblink
the menace of shivering
hearts is bespoken by
glowering ice in the eyes
when impalas explode
from the brush a near
grass-bellied tiger
may thus be deduced
subatomic components
are theorized by chaos
of Hadron collisions

the force that is God
and as I so believe
exists over and under
around and within every
presence and absence
discerned in that arrow
of time the momentum
of entropy perfect of
order preceding the bang
of creation proceeding
hence thermodynamically
into the vast multiplicity
worlds within worlds that
contain our existence

so what then to make
of those episodes now
and then once in a while
on occasion that drop me
near terminal speed
in a wirra of downfall
no crisis of faith
says I firmly to me
merely gravity
having its way

 

(originally posted January 2014)

Decline and Fall

“The Triumph of Doubt” by Victor Brauner

oh for a mind free of doubt

how does knowledge

accumulate certainty

where is the truth

if not naked and stark

right in front of the eyes

how can so many lies

weave such credible gospel

so many impostors

appear so authentic

these times of decision

are plagued by red herrings

from practiced dissemblers

the whole of this lumbering

aged republic outfoxed

once again by a handful

of bandits whose philistine

minions grow larger in number

and smaller of mind with

each forfeiting nod to their

favorite daughter or son

it’s no use casting ballots

with fingers hard crossed

or while holding one’s nose

there is too much at stake

or at least there was once

back when sensible citizens

prayed for a mind free of doubt

Antidote

“Faith of Man” by Kim Van Riper

faith is antidote for poisonous doubt
gives wings to the flightless
and eyes to the sightless
puts agnostic ideas to their rout

perhaps not for all but for some
we many who’ve suffered
misgivings unbuffered
that stunt whom we wish to become

Shadowproof

Oleander Casting a Shadow
Photo from learnnc.com

when did I die
was I ever alive
was it all
wisp of figment
if so who
imagined me
if I can think
through the pain
and the plague
of uncertainty
surely then
somewhere existed
some semblance
of me in my
essence or did it

if shadows
are proof then
I may have
the answer
but I can’t tell
shadows from
inside the dark
of this
dungeon of doubt

can you see it
my shadow
attached to
this ground
if you can
would you touch
it and tell me
at least if it’s
dead or alive
so that I may
take rest from
these fears
cast aside
existential anxiety
lie back down
into the night
knowing whether
to wait for
the sun or
confront my
infinity

Wonder

“Jesus Thinking”
Unnown Artist
Image from revbricetajourney.blogdpot.com

I wonder
did Jesus
ever wonder

as a man
he could not
know all things
would not
be omniscient

as a man
I could learn
from his thoughts
in his come-of-age
undisclosed years

I wonder
did Jesus
ever wonder
about what
I wonder

as men
did we share
human doubts
did we have the
same questions

I wonder
did Jesus
ever wonder
about you
or me

Doing the Math

Illustration from “Zero Sum Game Theory”
Article in encyclopedia.com

thirty-five years of
airports and taxies
patched hotel room calls to
part-time paternity
still sag my spirits
with weight of regret
still burn doubts into
my accolades haunting
my sleepless reflections
on zero-sum theory

Diving

Photo by Chris Omtvedt
At derek.broox.com

the waters of faith
fill an uneasy lake
chilled by qualms
cold in underflow
currents churned down
below trustworthy reach
by warm rays of the sun
leaving divers to ponder
one probable truth
the deep end of doubt
sinks to destitute
dark disbelief
near the bottom mud
bristling with indigent
agnostic bones