From Poetry, Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, and Luis Rodriguez

This is what I wrote at the workshop:

What was it he said?
Open the vein.
Break the heart.
Let it flow.
Share with men.
Writing down the bones
Ask yourself
Who am I?
How did I get here?

Write down the images –
A circle of redwoods
A fire circle in the middle.
The green ancient light
Filtering through the dust –
Light from the birth of the universe
Showering on these men
Hungering for community.
The seed of light
The seed of sound
Bursting forth from the
well protected heart
That yearns for connection.

And now the sound of
the chanting group rises
in the adjoining grove –
Rhythmically clapping and
stomping the earth –
(I break out laughing
at this point, at
the speed with which
my hand is moving across
the paper). Laughing as I
see in my mind the interlocking waves
of sound, the overlapping
rhythms of all these
hearts – bursting to
break the bonds, the boundaries
(some self-inflicted, some not)
waves rushing and building
amazed that they are this alive.

And only after this first
burst of excitement
Do I begin to notice the shadows
and the underbrush –
The rich nourishing
network of roots that
says all will be included
This will only deepen.
That the earth is calling
Through these bones
Through these gatherings
For relief
For a slight shift
To allow these waves to
Flow into our cities
Cooling, soothing, healing
Basic sanity
Earth wisdom
A real possibility this time
Of earth community.

Ed Levin
August 16, 2007