Poems from “Rapture and revelation on the householder path” by CAT TWEEDIE
Close up of Tree of Life sculpture
There is a sphere of resting
beyond time and separation.
To turn toward it you must have
a wildly courageous heart.
Steady and unbound it can rest in a sandstorm,
willing to be submerged,
exquisitely drowning veils of misunderstanding
until all sounds are related to one another,
and nothing moves outside the common fabric.
Every nuance of perception
a pointer to a ground of unending brilliance.
Come to me dear Ones
when we are too tired of opposition:
let’s fall into each other’s arms
delirious in the swells of relief and grief,
crawling and stumbling we’ll come,
having held ourselves in roles for so long
not daring to feel the emotions this side of freedom.
Feet of Buddha sculpture
Process picture from Tarzan’s Refuge sculpture
My unseen teachers hold ceremony;
smoke swirls upward, an unfettered dance in silent attention.
Prayers and chants soak the space
perfumed by wildly loving and expanded beings.
Possibility spaces, unusually far apart to a conditioned mind,
present direct paths to the new realities,
the how to be figured out by the universe
like water flowing through a trough.
There is no way I need to be
to receive this next moment
Picture of Yang sculpture
What you told me about your life
and what you reflected in hearing about mine
is with me this morning.
Phrases from our conversation -
like jasmine blossoms unfolding in steaming water -
their full fragrance updating my understanding.
I noticed something different yesterday.
I felt myself reach and come up empty handed.
This morning I recognize I was looking for the drama and risk of proving again my worthiness or unworthiness.
But equanimity permeated our connection.
I realize I can’t love you more,
and I can’t love you less.
No matter what you do or I do.
While part of me soars with delight
I also bow my head in sadness at the absence of a long-time companion
and all the memories the three of us shared.
Detail picture of Pegasus sculpture
Action shot with giant copper Millipede and Cricket sculptures
When the Buddha touches the ground
she makes a commitment
to this earthly plane and to all the beings in it
to remember continuously
the true nature of consciousness
and be forever in service and loving care
for the totality of experiential arisings
choosing not to be distracted by
terror or horror,
joy and angelic realms of immeasurable beauty,
intensity of rapture and grace,
unformed beings in any form
an identity of specialness from all that arises to be witnessed,
committing to openness in every cell of her body
to be the metabolization of consciousness meeting itself.
I want this.
Exactly this.
I want all of what is here right now.
Detail picture of Bee Hive sculpture