I Kneel and Hold the Universe

I’ve been deep dreaming lately and this is what bubbled to the surface.
I Kneel and Hold the Universe—

I kneel upon the cool wet sand
beside the restless ocean
and scoop into my hand
its water—it trickles through my fingers—
I scoop again.

I’m holding here in liquid form,
the Universe, for it, this water
has touched the shores
of many an ancient land.
It fell as rain so long ago
and once again will be—
I let it trickle until
just one drop remains—
if then, I hold it to my nose,
I smell the lotus and the pine,
the orchid and the fir,
the baobab.

I cast my eyes toward the setting sun,
toward the far horizon where I sense
the mystery revealed—the whole,
the miracle in the birds who fly above it,
the creatures who live beneath its restless waves,
the women and the men who sailed upon it
those who died and were buried in it—

This is our planet’s last great frontier
with so many secrets hidden in its darkened depths.
Without this tiny drop of salty water
and the countless trillions like it,
life would not exist—
we would never be.


Vi Jones
©March 13, 2006