Leaning
with one arm wrapped around a pole, I held a copy of Antonio Machado’s
poetry in Spanish in one hand, and a Spanish-English dictionary in the
other. Machado’s “Proverbios y Cantares a Jose Ortega y Gassett” are
dense, rich, philosophical fragments. One piece burst within me, like
a dash of spice flavoring a whole dish:
“Buena es el agua y la sed;
buena es la sombra y el sol;
la miel de flor de romero,
la miel de campo sin flor.”
“Good is water and thirst;
good is shade and sunlight;
the honey of rosemary flowers,
the honey of a land without flowers.”
“La miel de campo sin flor….” That is poetry. The honey of a land without flowers. Subtle honey carried by a subtle bee, delivered from an early 20th century poet of Spain across time and space and into my heart as I stood on a subway in Los Angeles in 2008. “Buena es el agua y la sed….” The thirst for God is God. I tasted at least some of the meaning concentrated in that bit of poetry, and it brought me bliss I hadn’t expected on my evening commute.
But there was yet more satori in store as I continued reading:
“Los ojos por que suspires,
sabelo bien,
los ojos en que te miras
son ojos porque te ven.”
“The eyes for which you long,
understand well,
the eyes in which you look
are eyes because they see you.”
My inner eyes gazed into their reflection and honored their other-ness. Machado snapped me out of my self-absorption, reminded me that each person packed into that subway car was somebody else. Not what I thought of them, not how I saw them, not who I believed them to be.
“Ensena el Cristo: a tu proximo
amaras como a ti mismo,
mas nunca olvides que es otro.”
“The Christ teaches you to love
your neighbor as yourself,
but never forget he is an other.”
Ecstasy – “ex – stasis” – out of state – out of my state of glib preoccupation with my self-image, my schedules, my definitions of other things and of other people. Out of my, me, and mine, I was liberated by Machado’s terse verse. A poetic epiphany on the Red Line – how could I have expected it?
Thurs Oct 30, 7-8:30 pm - PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY AND POLITICS - panel discussion with Jim Burklo - Doheny Intellectual Commons, 2nd floor, Doheny Library, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (free)
“Buena es el agua y la sed;
buena es la sombra y el sol;
la miel de flor de romero,
la miel de campo sin flor.”
“Good is water and thirst;
good is shade and sunlight;
the honey of rosemary flowers,
the honey of a land without flowers.”
“La miel de campo sin flor….” That is poetry. The honey of a land without flowers. Subtle honey carried by a subtle bee, delivered from an early 20th century poet of Spain across time and space and into my heart as I stood on a subway in Los Angeles in 2008. “Buena es el agua y la sed….” The thirst for God is God. I tasted at least some of the meaning concentrated in that bit of poetry, and it brought me bliss I hadn’t expected on my evening commute.
But there was yet more satori in store as I continued reading:
“Los ojos por que suspires,
sabelo bien,
los ojos en que te miras
son ojos porque te ven.”
“The eyes for which you long,
understand well,
the eyes in which you look
are eyes because they see you.”
My inner eyes gazed into their reflection and honored their other-ness. Machado snapped me out of my self-absorption, reminded me that each person packed into that subway car was somebody else. Not what I thought of them, not how I saw them, not who I believed them to be.
“Ensena el Cristo: a tu proximo
amaras como a ti mismo,
mas nunca olvides que es otro.”
“The Christ teaches you to love
your neighbor as yourself,
but never forget he is an other.”
Ecstasy – “ex – stasis” – out of state – out of my state of glib preoccupation with my self-image, my schedules, my definitions of other things and of other people. Out of my, me, and mine, I was liberated by Machado’s terse verse. A poetic epiphany on the Red Line – how could I have expected it?
NEXT BIRDLIKE AND BARNLESS book tour events with Jim Burklo:
Sat Oct 25 - 9-3 - Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, Orinda, CA - seminar on MINISTRY AS CARING WITHOUT AN AGENDA- selling/signing books as part of the event
Sun Oct 26- 10:30 am - preaching/book signing re: BIRDLIKE AND BARNLESS at Fairfax Community Church, 2398 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Fairfax, CAThurs Oct 30, 7-8:30 pm - PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY AND POLITICS - panel discussion with Jim Burklo - Doheny Intellectual Commons, 2nd floor, Doheny Library, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (free)