Photo: Fish Out of Water, Columbus, Ohio 2012, Rebecca Parker
INSPIRATION PIECE
Angler’s Meditation
By Linda M. Rhinehart Neas
The water, barely warmed by the rising sun,
moves in ripples and flows – over rocks
covered in rich green moss so thick
one could imagine a tiny universe existed
within the lush borders – an island in the sea
Like an actor waiting the call to stage
the trout sits beneath the surface
facing the current as it passes over
the rainbow scales that catch the light
announcing the treasure waiting below
The angler stands knee-high – Colossus
of the stream – patiently casting his line
tempting the fish with hand-tied delights
yet, content to simply “be” – here and now –
a man fishing by a moss covered universe
RESPONSE
A Traveler’s Meditation
By Rebecca Parker
Oh, the places I go to find home
My deepest thoughts an insistent companion
Conscious that my destination might come too quickly
On a path of inquiry towards a more open heart
As I release the fermenting turbulence du jour
The miles fly by while my mind finds its own plane
An almost complete separation from my eyes and hands
Even, as they judge carefully the distance and sense, reflecting
Scenic shifting light and shadow, all around; a soulful matter of life in my own time
Toujours en route, but my journey feels holy
A precious period of conscious distance from the world
Embracing contemplation and stillness through movement
A state of longing expressed through perpetual relocation
Each trip, another chance to experience the new sounds of silence
To allow an improvised symphonic accompaniment; I listen
For the rush of the wind, the tread of a heel, the splash of a fountain or the burble of a street
Even the bumps in the road give me hope for a coherent crescending coda
A song carried within and divided by three
A longing for understanding and a heart in pieces
Knowing love is not based on location
Nor distance measured in miles
A gypsy apart and alone, always perceived as somewhere else
Though connection to the road prevents total independence
While offering the complicated taste of freedom to ponder
The omnipresent tension between interconnectedness and self-determination
Fervently wishing for stability
Yet dreading its everyday inertia
Doubting if any one place or person will ever truly suit
But willing to pay the tolls of time to anticipate and continually discover
The irony of having to plan to be able to live in and for the moments
To feel a radiance burst forth from the eclipsed parts of me that must live in hibernation
Until awakened by a specific person, place, presence, memory, experience that
Illuminates as I renegotiate each separate intertwined relation with the other
An exploration of fusion in compromise with integrity and fullness of self
An exchange of sacred story bartered for perspective and sustenance
In the search for balance between freedom and security
The right kind of adventurous curiosity or just another type of avarice?
It is haunting, this dichotomy of achievement through destined flight
This is my Everest, as I look down on the beauty of setting a course
Off the grid to tempt lost bearings; this is my high
Knowing the unexplored, always circles back to the familiar
Arrival to the infinite meditative labyrinth
Spiraling ever higher back to the source
Oh the places I go, to find home
Within me and always somewhere else