For class I had to do a close read on a poem and how it "does" theology - then I had to present a second poem and compare how the two "do" theology similarly or differently.
For the first poem I chose The Summer Day by Mary Oliver. In the first few lines its clear to see the narrator of the poem is already super reflective and notices the smaller details in life. She is brought to a point of intersection just from admiring the smallest of creatures: a grasshopper. The poem is instantly theological as she ponders who made the world, such as the tiny grasshopper before her. However I think the meat and potatoes comes from the second half - when the grasshopper flies away and suddenly the narrator reflects on prayer. To me this made me think how most prayers go out of us and to the being in which we pray, flying away the way the grasshopper does from the narrators hand. But then they present HOW they pray:
"I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down/ into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,/how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, /which is what I have been doing all day./Tell me, what else should I have done?"
This makes me think to Van Engen's article where he said "Theology, the study of God and God’s relationship with all things, can be abstracted into principles, but ideally its purpose is to influence life. Theology exists to be lived." Its the last line, "theology exists to be lived" that really resonates with me and I think is why this poem really resonates with me.
Living theology, prayer as what we do in life and how we live our lives, and connecting to God within us and all around us is the connection I bring to my next poem. I stumbled upon this poet on Instagram and he is a theological poet. I am so enraptured by his poetry that after reading a handful of them I pre-ordered his book with zero hesitation and I think all people should experience his poetry at least once. Some key things to note: he has been homeless for a time, is married with kids, and during all the ups and downs of his life he found God through love. He sees God through the connecting of souls (primarily through sex) and so he calls his poetry "sacred smut x spicy scripture". But it is truly a LIVING theology.
I know this is a long poem but I beg of you, bear with me and read it all. It really sets the tone for all of his work and it I worth it. If you want to skip it.... the final stanza is where the connection between the two hits home: "maybe physiology has always been prayer".
poet: Christopher Sexton
IG: christhecocreator
Poem: god came when I did. and whispered, finally
-----------------------------------
my god wears no name,
only nerve endings and nectar,
my god is a man.
my god is a woman.
my god is neither and both.
my god is a mystical oracle
whispering through dead things.
my god is the earth's orgasm,
when lightning and soil kiss.
my god is what happens
when polarity dances
instead of debates.
my god is in the collapse.
in the climax.
in the stillness after.
this is not about religion.
this is about relationship.
the relationship between
rain and roots.
sky and womb.
dopamine and devotion.
testosterone and tenderness.
this is about remembering
that the soul is sexual,
the erotic is spiritual,
and that the second coming
is not a prophecy.
It's a practice.
divine union isn't some
esoteric metaphor.
it's science.
it's sacred geometry
and sacred sex
and sacred nervous systems
waking up from shame.
this is not new age fluff.
this is ecology.
this is physiology.
this is psychology
finally realizing
what the mystics always knew:
to meet someone with all of you
requires that you've first
sat with all of you.
I wear my mala beads
to anchor me in this.
108 beads.
1 is the masculine.
action, direction, the seed.
the proton charge of the cosmos,
born to pursue and penetrate truth.
0 is the feminine.
current, intuition, the egg.
the electron dance of creation,
chaos, and curve.
and 8 is the ouroboros.
the infinite spiral
where they fuck
and become forever.
together they make life.
together they are life.
and every time I touch them,
I'm reminded:
the point is not transcendence.
the point is trust.
maybe resurrection
isn't just about rising from the dead.
maybe its about rising
into the living.
maybe heaven
is just the feeling in her hips
when she finally exhales into your hands
without wondering if she's safe.
maybe salvation doesn't come
from a cross or a creed.
maybe it just comes
when we stop using love as a leash.
maybe the second coming
is not coming back.
maybe it's coming deeper.
into the mess.
into the moment.
into the breath.
maybe physiology
has always been prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment