The God Inside

On Christmas morning, a coyote stood in the middle of the dirt road in front of a great, stubbled field. The field stretched westward across from the casino construction on the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band land of the Pottawatomi Indians. The coyote stared through me, not confessing any signs of concern. Not long after, a great hawk descended to eye level, and then, three deer. For me, no other gift is worthy.

Gray rain falls instead of snow. Behind the misted veil, I am seeing a few important things for the first time.

My eyes are ravished by the god inside. ~ Kabir

The tangle and tumult of modern life takes and takes. Libra scales tip this way and that, without consideration for center. Everything happening outside of me was just that – outside – and not me. Much was taken, but I blame myself for giving beyond the marrow. No matter how it felt or seemed, I was never the one. Who was the enemy? Fantasy – romance – hope. In other words: me.

December's Oak Moon gives maximum light around 7:30 p.m. Night air is too soft to bite – too lonely to keep foxes in bed. The neighborhood is silent for once. If there is anything to appreciate about the holidays it is that.

Forgiveness is a gift for the cosmos, an act capable of keeping spiritual threads untangled. I am not the hungry witch; I am Gretel and I can save myself, thank you very much.

Geese and woodsmoke
rising Christmas mist
no longer beholden to mankind