A Void That Contains Everything
(from Within My Illusions)
In the deepest stillness
there is movement.
In silence there is sound.
I sit in the saffron eye
of a daisy, encircled
by its deep pink,
velveteen rays.
Outstretched.
Outstretching.
Open.
Bees and butterflies dance
an elaborate ballet
in, around, and through
this garden.
Pollinating potential.
Their patterns of motion and rest
are as impossible to predict as
the currents of wind
that move trees to surrender
seeds of intention.
Quiet buzzes through me
until it becomes a part of me,
rearranges me
the way the vibrations
of a song can change
the crystalline structure of water.
Encased in this space,
in the pregnant womb
beyond time and place,
skin dissolves into ether and
I become the dancer
and the dance,
the instrument and the music,
a conduit of chance.
One afternoon this week, I was talking on the phone and stepped outside to take advantage of the "Texas fall" weather (temperatures only in the high 80's, and the sun shifted slightly lower in the sky). As I stood at the edge of the deck, looking out at the vista as I often do, I had a sense that I should look down. I noticed that the milkweeds had blossomed and that dozens of bees were feasting on their pollen. Captivated by the scene, I was mesmerized by the bees, the movement of the plants in the breeze, and the subtleties of sound and silence in the background.
When my phone call ended, I sat down on the floor of the deck and allowed myself to become enraptured, if just for a few minutes. At some point while sitting there, I remembered this poem from Within My Illusions. I picked up my phone again to record the bees and their dance so I could make this video with the audio clip of "A Void That Contains Everything" from the Within My Illusions album. You can find the poem in the chapter called "Indescribable" (chapter 5 in the book and track 6 on the album).
Wishing you moments of rapturous joy, wellsprings of possibility, and gratitude for the extraordinary ordinary.
With love,
Jennifer