Place

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and peace to you.

          The devil took him to a very high mountain
          and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;
          and he said to him, “All these I will give you,
          if you will fall down and worship me.”
          Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
          ‘Worship Yahweh your God, and serve God alone.’”

                           —Matthew 4.8-10

I confess: I seek a place in a world
that is not Thee.
I seek belonging in a realm of dislocation,
this world’s imaginary kingdoms.
I read the world’s opinion and believe it;
I covet the esteem of ignorance,
the delusion of my loyal subjects
upon the throne of elsewhere.

Teach me to be at home in you,
to rest my hand on a desert rock
until I see they are the same.
To float in the sea until I know
myself to be in you.
To walk among men and women
and know that they and I and you are one.

I abdicate my throne for you,
and here, bereft,
belong.

          Then the devil left him,
          and suddenly angels came
          and waited on him.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To receive Unfolding Light as a daily e-mail,
write to me at unfoldinglight(at) gmail.com

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