*
The cicada larvae digs for 17 years through the soils of time,
Longer than it takes for a human fetus to become a mother
Or a young man burned by the searing fires of lust.
What wisdom does that nymph pass on to the Universe?
What does it mean to be fully encased
Longer than it takes for a human fetus to become a mother
Or a young man burned by the searing fires of lust.
What wisdom does that nymph pass on to the Universe?
What does it mean to be fully encased
In the shell of the cicada?
Breaking out of the molds of experience,
Free of the trappings of earth
Flying and singing in one last triumphant “Hurrah!”
Before breaking free yet again
Of life as we know it.
What comes next for this musician and lover?
****
Breaking out of the molds of experience,
Free of the trappings of earth
Flying and singing in one last triumphant “Hurrah!”
Before breaking free yet again
Of life as we know it.
What comes next for this musician and lover?
****
The garden spider spins its zig-zag pattern in the trees.
Its life much the same when it’s old as when young.
As the mist rises from the moist ground in the morning…
As the sun sets across the waters, reflecting the moss
Hanging from the branches…
Who is to say which life can tell us more about reality?
In its web it catches whatever comes.
Today the unwary cicada falls prey.
The spider rushes instantly, traversing both time and space
Like a terrible spector, who can be here and then there,
Effortlessly arriving at this new source of nourishment.
It slowly wraps the cicada’s last look at life, through compound eyes.
****
Its life much the same when it’s old as when young.
As the mist rises from the moist ground in the morning…
As the sun sets across the waters, reflecting the moss
Hanging from the branches…
Who is to say which life can tell us more about reality?
In its web it catches whatever comes.
Today the unwary cicada falls prey.
The spider rushes instantly, traversing both time and space
Like a terrible spector, who can be here and then there,
Effortlessly arriving at this new source of nourishment.
It slowly wraps the cicada’s last look at life, through compound eyes.
****
“Am I like the cicada,” says the boy to the man,
“Or am I more like the spider?”
“You are both,” says the man,
“And they are both.”
“I do not understand,” the boy answers.
A wasp settles down on the back of the spider.
One egg, delicately placed… new life will soon begin.
“All you can do son, is observe with wonder
The truth and the beauty of beginnings and of endings.”
“I want to hold onto the joy and leave the sadness behind!”
“You can not have the beginning without the endings.
You can not revel in the joy without wallowing in the sorrow.”
****
“Or am I more like the spider?”
“You are both,” says the man,
“And they are both.”
“I do not understand,” the boy answers.
A wasp settles down on the back of the spider.
One egg, delicately placed… new life will soon begin.
“All you can do son, is observe with wonder
The truth and the beauty of beginnings and of endings.”
“I want to hold onto the joy and leave the sadness behind!”
“You can not have the beginning without the endings.
You can not revel in the joy without wallowing in the sorrow.”
****
Universe watches as I dig through the dirt
Where I first found my soul.
It cheers as I rise, forcing clumps of soil to give way,
Breaking open the paradigm that has encased my consciousness.
Forcing blood into these new wings to fly, finding these hollow drums,
“I will beat out a song that will force the whole world to listen!”
It watches as I spin the web of my life
Zig-zagging to and fro madly, with care and dedication.
It wonders as it sees me capture that majestic creature
So much larger than myself, its tangled life now beyond repair.
The wasp settles down on my back. My fate is sealed. New life begins.
Universe now sees for the first time, through the multi-faceted eyes of the wasp.
“Aha!”
Where I first found my soul.
It cheers as I rise, forcing clumps of soil to give way,
Breaking open the paradigm that has encased my consciousness.
Forcing blood into these new wings to fly, finding these hollow drums,
“I will beat out a song that will force the whole world to listen!”
It watches as I spin the web of my life
Zig-zagging to and fro madly, with care and dedication.
It wonders as it sees me capture that majestic creature
So much larger than myself, its tangled life now beyond repair.
The wasp settles down on my back. My fate is sealed. New life begins.
Universe now sees for the first time, through the multi-faceted eyes of the wasp.
“Aha!”
*
~ The Shaman on the Mountain of Dreams
