ONE HAS TO WONDER William Ramsey 2014 © William Ramsey

CONTENTS ODE TO A DETAIL THE SEARCH CREATURES OF SILENCE ODE TO THE ELEVATOR

ODE TO A DETAIL One has to wonder at the details of creation, not the vast, endless, cosmic stuff that itself must be a detail somewhere in God's eye. One has to wonder at the divine's silent dance on one drop of dew in marsh grass, on a spider web laced in a woodland shrub, or on the eyelid of a sleeping infant. One has to wonder at a soul's acute, sudden need, not at the greatness of an empire that recedes into decline like one ocean wave among millions. Every particle and iota hums with mystery— each physical piece of creation has that resonance. That you live and die in this magnificence is one, loving detail. contents

THE SEARCH after Hildegard of Bingen "The most questionable thing about prayer is the motive." —Johannes of Coblenz, 1657 I wanted to decipher the grand code, to graph my personal odds, to chart the safest course through a labyrinth— all those years my microscope magnifying the interior darkness of my cranium. contents

CREATURES OF SILENCE Desperate, God in heaven ripped open his shirt, clutched his chest, and screamed, "Look into this divine heart and see my love pumping like crazy into creation to sustain you!" Suddenly as people opened their mouths to speak all words vanished when passing the lips— everyone became a creature of silence. There was no more shouting. In time they learned to communicate by pressing their hands in precise, subtle touches to others' palms, chest, neck, cheeks, knees, and thighs. Such intimate pressings! Even today anger melts as fingers everywhere caress warmly, softly, the temples of others. As for me, I wait for that beautiful chest to be bared again, and never to leave it. contents

ODE TO THE ELEVATOR Life is where you find yourself when getting off the elevator on the wrong floor as the doors close behind you. You walk down the hall, smiling nonchalantly, in a charade that you know your way around. Yet, you desire to wake from this dream. You are hoping that one door is yours. You are picturing an executive suite, although a key to a maintenance room will do. Rich or poor, you just want a landlord with all the solutions, all the good power. Soon you see an escape staircase ahead, its sign saying: "IN CASE OF FIRE." Now you are fleeing a great fire, running outside with trillions of people who dance ecstatically in streets toward the horizon— the landlord has closed all doors behind them. contents

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