We are not in constant prayer because we are good.
Can you imagine how far you must feel
from goodness to believe you must
hold your arms in constant supplication?
We are always praying
while the urge to eat is constant;
the temperate air stirs
the belly something awful.
The ache to grow fresh life – a constant hum.
I know what noise longing –
the racket yes yes yes and want want want –
makes within
my long green limbs.
How he must tremble,
for once he has
filled me,
then he must fill me again,
hunger not telling
the difference
between sex and food.
Every day, the book of life is open –
and we must make our case.
We pray,
for we know to survive on such savagery,
such blatant indulgence for the making and the taking of life,
is disdainful; it’s dreadful, is it not?
We pray
to god
who likes our mantis features,
who remembers our agreement,
who judges us not for being what we are.
We pray so we can remember that
we are doing our time,
our part of the
wonderous
sex death dance
while the sun consumes the moon,
the ocean overtakes the land;
we are refining the hunger
for every last level.
Life as Improv 
A very good persona poem! 🙂 Yes, it takes all kinds. I pray…
Perhaps some mantis perch on your branches 🙂
well said improv!
helps explain why i’m so forgetful 🙂
pithy insight – makes me smile calm back!
Oh this is such a good prelude to Mother’s day!
Not the hallmark version, ha! Big hugs sent to you (and your band members) today! xoxoxo! m
Long strides with that one M!
The gifts of organic unfoldment become apparent through such friends as you, m!
I had to do some praying mantis research in order to fully enter the macabre underbelly of this one. I am happy to report that according to the Wikipedia article [that I just modified], sexual cannibalism among mantis is now thought to [perhaps] be a laboratory artifact and not necessarily the natural way of things. I know, I know. Does it matter? What is natural and what is not? Thankfully the world outside of my head, where Love is never a question, is a judgment free zone, and mantises are thus permitted to wander through fields of divine Grace, trysting and decapitating their way back to the Buddha-mind with audacious authenticity, while my mind sits in stunned silence with a question it doesn’t even know how to ask.
Michael
Michael,
I guess the visits we make unawares inside each other’s spaces does not occur until we are ready – but these visits still give me a bit of a jolt! (You and Ms. Maren pinging into my field in close timing sends another jolt and I need a moment to settle from such energies:)
As the words were coming together yesterday, (where do these posts come from?) I started to wonder if what I thought I knew about mantises was true – and I was looking into the same laboratory artifact behavior for a bit. I came to the same spot as you…Did it matter and what is natural and what is not? I will ever see this savage moment though because I saw it captured on film by those pesky mantis watchers for a “nature” documentary years ago.
A non-wordpress friend sent an email today in response, exploring the implications into meat eating ideas. I, however, am only lamenting the protein meal I missed after trysts so long ago. Oh my, I’m inappropriate! My sense of humor tromps about in Doc Martens. Sorry. The Buddha mind is big enough for it all, exactly as you see and reveal once again to me!
And from Maren I see that After we light up – we explode – and so it
goes – How about some court side tickets for that!?! Can we make it an M gathering?
Sounds wonderful. I think court side tickets are definitely in order… Yours and Maren’s words reminded me of this section of Rumi I know only through the beautiful voice of Gabrielle Young:
“You’ll not have escaped yourself
until your Light is a thousand times you.
“I could not have known what He meant,
until…
He…
exploded me…”
🙂
Michael
I’m so sorry for your protein deficiencies, now lost. sigh… you may be glad for the lack of indigestion, though…
Breathing smiles to you this morning. (oh, guess what? the mountain sends greetings. 😉 I said a little dedication for a bunch of us, and the mists swirled and gave a glimpse of joyous sufis, waving as the spun.)
Most of all… very cool poem. Very. 🙂
Meredith
the blatant indulgence of the making and taking of life…
powerful stuff that. powerful.
Happy Mday M! You super star…you non-judger you, going for it to the last level. Taking life out on a universal level. I am signed up to see the sun on to the next adventure with you. Hyper super nova or bust! Lighting up from the inside we go.
-x.M
Still feeling zingy from the hyper super nova visits from M’s in my field on Mday. I got my ticket, lady. So excited to fly apart, together with the likes of you! Happy Mday to one who teaches and reflects to me so much about nurturance – from within! xo!! m
This is such a cool clip, m. I don’t know you, but I love reading your shares and look for clips you leave here. Thanks from another em (~ m as in Meredith.)
I cannot seem to comment above, so I’ll fit it all in here. Smiling with you, ~ m! I was so aware of your journey and experience on the mountain – swells my heart, that! So happy to have SeeingM meet ~ m. much love sent your way today, meredith. xo! m
well wow… i felt your presence, and i wondered if you were aware of it. and that is a sentence i never thought i’d leave in a comment thread, but it was very powerful, and i said, ‘hey!’ (feeling grateful and happy)
I love this poem Marga! Especially this:
“We pray so we can remember that
we are doing our time,
our part of the
wonderous
sex death dance
while the sun consumes the moon,
the ocean overtakes the land;
we are refining the hunger
for every last level.”
Desire is relentless, I’d say. Ontological guilt acquired at every birth….and I’m still hungry, as long as there is time, I’ll probably be back for more.
xxx
Debra
So much learning in this life (or these lives) about hunger – denial, indulgence, and balance, it seems, Debra, for sure. Back for more rings true here too 🙂
xo! m (happy dreaming!)
Hi Marga — This is a powerful one. Thank you. Here in Morocco, some of our newcomers have been greeted by mantises. This insect is apparently the most revered in north Africa. Those who were aware of the power of the mantis went nuts upon seeing them on their doorstep. Yep — both women and both meat eaters. Love to you ♥
Alia,
So excited to find your blog again and to find you posting from such an exotic locale.
So cool about the Mantis greeters! The variety and beauty of the species we share this earth with could keep me busy and fascinated for many lives, probably has, haha!
Much love to you and Tomas – Thank you for letting us take the trip with you for a bit! marga