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Monday, April 15, 2013

This Soul of Mine


It was here
when my brain got here,
greeting me
when I became
a sentient human.

It soars with eagles,
sings daybreak epiphanies,
and moans low and sorrowful
in funerals.

Even when I didn’t believe,
it has always been here,
as invisible and necessary
as air.
Inside this Gentile body
my Jewish soul stirs,
as it always has
since before
the Buddha,
the Christ,
Abraham and Moses.

This soul is simultaneously
under the seas
and above the clouds,
speaking every
foreign tongue
perfectly.

Since my soul
is not my body,
it does not delight in pleasure
nor does it recoil in pain:
it cannot
be bribed with Heaven
or threatened with Hell.

I do not
have this soul,
but rather
this soul has me,

and if it belongs
to anyone,
it belongs
in The Embrace
so encompassing
and profound

that
thankfully,

I cannot tell
where this soul ends
and God begins.

14 comments:

  1. And that is the soul of a poet. What beautiful lines, and I love your conclusion!

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    1. Thank you - I like the conclusion too.

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  2. the soul...always a big mystery to me..even though it is invisible i think it makes what a person is, much more than the body

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    1. Thanks, and I exactly agree - it's that ineffable part that science has yet to capture.

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  3. This is really gorgeous work!

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  4. Anonymous8:58 AM

    This is right up my alley! Love it.
    "it cannot
    be bribed with Heaven
    or threatened with Hell" big grin.

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    1. Thanks sez the Humanistic Universalist Christian.

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  5. lovely,
    all is soul, spirit
    all IS God

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    1. Thanks
      , I loved your site so I thought you'd understand.

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  6. This is fantastic! I think I've mentioned before how sneaky you are with your wisdom...your words tremble in truth, yet also a poetic simplicity...they swim beautifully through the mind...and I'm sure for some, linger long enough for them to see the truth. A gentle, awakening, so to speak. :) Okay...enough of that...I loved it!!!

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    1. Thanks for your effusive praise - a real honor coming from you! I cannot take credit for being sneaky with wisdom - I stole that trick from God. :)

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  7. beautifully said,

    " I cannot tell
    where this soul ends
    and God begins" -

    and sometimes, it seems i have the same problem in the other direction, and find it hard to decline the idea the body is being imprinted with the soul as well, since God includes all!

    a wonderful mystery for sure ;-) best wishes ;-)

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  8. So powerful... thought-provoking.

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