Layers

Posted by Paul Reynolds on Apr 26, 2022 in Blog, Inspired Readings, Western Insight | Comments Off on Layers

I have walked though many lives
Some of them my own,
And I am not who I was,
Though some principle of being
Abides, from which I struggle not to stray
When I look behind,
As I am compelled to look
Before I can gather strength
To proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
Towards the horizon
And the slow fires trailing
From the abandoned camp-sites
Over which the scavenger angels
Wheel on heavy wings.
Oh, I have made myself a tribe
Out of my true affections,
And my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
To its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
The manic dust of my friends,
Those who fell along the way,
Bitterly stings my face.
Yet I turn, I turn,
Exulting somewhat
With my will intact to go,
And every stone on the road
Precious to me.
In my darkest night,
When the moon was covered,
And I roamed through wreckage,
A nimbus-covered voice directed me:
“Live in the layers,
not on the litter.”
Though I lack the art to decipher it,
No doubt the next chapter
In my book of transformations
Is already written.
I am not done with the changes.

Stanley Kunitz — ‘the Layers’

Posted by | Paul Reynolds

“Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. Not any religion or cultural system…..” - Rumi

For over 30 years Paul Reynolds has collected and shared inspiration from a wide variety of sources. Embracing the philosophy that at the core of all these expressions is the reminder that we are loved and supported every moment. This unending stream of inspiration, imagination and wisdom is posted via his weekly ‘Living the Question Blog’, which has become ‘home’ for those discoveries. If you would like to receive the readings and share them with those you feel will benefit, please fill out the ‘Subscribe’ form to the right and Paul’s selections will come to your email every Friday.