Who has mapped every grain of the shore?
Who has cupped the wind in his hands?
Who has wrapped the waters in his robes?
Nothing holy moves my tongue.
I have been a fool over and over.
Yet I say this --
Three things cannot be satisfied:
the parched ground with its mouths cracked open
the sword, always hungry
the fire that never says enough
Three things are always filling, always full:
the sea fills with rivers
yet does not rise
the eye fills with light
yet is always looking
the ground fills with names
yet does not speak
Three things pass understanding:
how the eagle sees the clear wheels
of the air
how the ships finds a path
in trackless waves
how marriage moves
between a man and a woman
Oh, Wisdom, this world
is too wonderful for me.
Stay with me, help me. Pluck lies
from my heart, scales
from my eyes. If I am foolish,
cover my mouth.
Give me joy, give me
love in this world. Help me as I stagger.
Hold me as I sleep.
I'm on my way back from Chicago, where I had much fun, much family, much wine, much music, much writing, and much luck in thrift stores. I even found a blue glass insulator -- which I had just written a notebook piece about. I bought it, of course.
A perfect time except that James couldn't come, and how I missed him. I cried when the music started at the wedding; I wanted so much to dance with him. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Foster, Matt and Allison. They throw a great party. It was they that made me think again of this proverb, the marriage and the ship at sea. James, I miss you... I'll be home soon.
