severed on the board
Con/Jur/d, 2/7/2024
Posed, between unleavened crackers
rustic bread with a black handled knife
conspicuously ,
, on a grained :laugh: wooden board
marked by deep whirls and rings
indicating a long-lived tree, subject to
harsh conditions, like, living alone
on a cliff, impossibly twisted by
wind and salt
UNTIL
whose vigil was interrupted
;unfortunately, by an Armenian carpenter
who during his too brief life, while
, reflecting on resilience ,
carved out this squared board -
from the round heart, producing
wood chips used as kindling, and several
cuts and scrapes, , , which in those days
could be fatefully fatal
upon which rests
a fruit selection whose albedo skin
and diffused reflection, a trickiness
:optics are illusion:
of accents, blending of matte and gloss
an unseen light source
apt metaphor for the divine gaze -
in the midst of the chiaroscuro charcuterie
severed on the board, sits a head
we are told this (rather, wisdom is received
conveniently covering the massive amounts of blood
such a carving organically produces) reward
is for John the Baptist
who introduced resisting the temptations of the flesh
to a popular audience
who still celebrate the celibate
divide the world into the pure, bloodless
well polished
and us
unwashed, uncarved, unknown
luckily, we share this angle with the painter and the mysterious
light, from this very , space , sameness
we experience,
: this now.
Much love,
Con/Jur/d, 2/7/2024
A Zen sweet potato
after a lengthy sit
said I yam what I yam