Invitation

  INVITATION  ( Lyon, France)

Lionized, 

that double-edged sword

often betrays a touch of bitterness

in the cup of sweet charity-

At any rate, it never just happens

there will always be blood

casting in one sense a very different image

then the menacing dragon slain

beneath benevolent St George-

Even when it is a simple delicate recognition

the Creator is seeking, 

like the tasting mouth becomes to the One

who brought the dark chocolate, 

unknown until later, 

when her sensitive tongue detects 

buried in its folds,

like the hidden meaning of a poem,

it was chocolate,

indeed chocolate, 

but with,

 just a hint of cardamom.

So recline sipping

 Jasmine-laced-green-tea 

with the one you love,

and allow your  attention to be  captured 

by a snake slinking into the garden

 as it suddenly appears 

from the fallen rubble of a wall,

which was once a portrait of craft 

but now besieged by neglect-

The serpent doesn’t ask,

yet one question clearly forms:

Love or fear?

Then, at the break of a new day 

your hands busy to construct

the rich espresso of  thought,

from an open kitchen window, 

notice, a black cat watching you,

waiting with alert patience for an invitation 

from you whom she perceives to be a kindred spirit-

You see, there is recognition 

in fact, it’s practically

in everything you sensually embrace-

So go on, offer to open the heavy iron gates

that lead to a city of cathedrals-

Mindfully place each step, 

read with care, caution

not to be misled into wild dream 

like undisciplined wisteria-

Because you have seen how 

“set in stone”

becomes 

“crumbled in decay”

when indifference, 

the paramour of waking sleep,

seizes hold of the now passing day-

Beauty is eternal and so is Emptiness-

Just like the divinity of Incense,

it kisses the senses then vanishes,

what was once whole, eclipsed -

Ashes to ashes 

dust to dust…

If you have ever watched someone die

you either see a final closure or rebirth.

No one is sure-

We can watch the smoke escape the body

with intellectual pleasure and revel 

in tempting Death (as we do)-

However,

this might be the one opportune moment 

when Time, in all its brutality 

mercifully slows for the two of You,

surrendering its onslaught 

so you can surrender to it,

like coupled Doves finding refuge 

in the arms of an ancient Cherry Tree-

The alluring Power of adulation is lost 

without the anchor of devotion-

A sailor unable to rely on the stars 

when the compass is broken,

adrift like the scent of honey suckle 

swallowed by The Land-

At the midpoint of Life and the Year

what becomes most apparent:

Recognize who recognizes you-

A black Cat with gold in the eyes…

Invitation.

Now, questions are only answers in reverse and snakes,

they may or may not be menacing,

but You have returned,

to a Home which holds the familiar

like an antiquated mirror 

refracted with De’ja Vu-

And this feels good, of course-

Do you know what I mean?