December 19, 2010 | 5:07 am

Flame

Posted by Emily Stern

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Joyous friend, joyous ocean,
all the world can hear you.
All the beings on this planet all the worlds of this world
finger puppets, dinner guests, dancing questions
dismal breaths, timely pressure, turquoise tests,
tambourines, and time.
I trust that you already know,
all that you already know,
all the beings on this planet, all the worlds of this world
take me to the depths of this earth, and meet your heavenly fathers sitting in gowns they wear to the balls when they dress as their mothers, going nowhere, knowing nothing, being all they are.
Teach me how to move
when space has settled like the snow
where all there is is You.
And too many hands grapple for a taste of desire, I am burning with the ember of the forest in the flame. And all I know is bounty in the nothingness without me you are brother you are lover you are father you are shame, you are oneness you are essence you are sacred you are lessons you have taught me of tomorrow where no yesterdays remain.
And when our magic fails us, as magic always fails us, know I’m a child of the womb Which means we bridge the sun at noon, high above the purple hues, I have known your love. and she has burned me on the chest, she brands me with a kiss and says, “this is a joke, this is a gift: the life you’re meant to live.”