Third Sunday in Lent
- Exodus 20:1-17
- Psalm 19
- 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
- John 2:13-22
Without a Thought
without a thought,
the neighbor’s backyard
turns green~ W.J. Higginson
Without a thought
the sea-green rhododendron
suddenly sprouts pink blossoms
in the emeraldness of May.
Hot pink fronts the green
until the gardener snips
the summer-roasted buds.
It’s a show for the higher brain.
Plants don’t know
the meaning of words
like pink and green
or note the nanosecond
when spring arrives
or understand the importance
of timely pruning.
The rhody does its thing
without a thought.
Without a thought,
the sweltering sun ambles across
Seattle’s cloudless sky
like a super slow-mo
flame-encircled dragster
popping wheelies
on the silent strip overhead.
Do you like the classics?
Apollo’s wingéd car
cleaves the Ionian dome.
Still, our clueless star
knows nothing whatsoever
of chariots or charioteers,
ancient or modern.
It does its daily thing
without a thought.
Without a thought,
the uncarved block reveals itself
to the carver.
The carver, a thinker,
is keen to see
into the true nature
of the uncarved block,
though truth can only be known
without a thought.
That annoying pedagogue consciousness
is chased away
and carver and wood are one.
Carving starts when thinking stops;
thinking stops when carving starts.
All this
and only this
without a thought.
March 7, 2021
If you would like to comment about the poetry or contact me, you can reach me at davebaldwin37@gmail.com.
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