Mark Nepo: The Way Under the Way

Freefall

If you have one hour of air and many hours to go,

you must breathe slowly.

If you have one arm’s length and many things to care for,

you must give freely.

If you have one chance to know God and many doubts,

you must set your heart on fire.

We are blessed.

Each day is a chance.

We have two arms.

Fear wastes air.

OMTIMES: What do you hope readers will take with them from THE WAY UNDER THE WAY?

MARK NEPO: My hope is that the arc of these poems, across all three books, will be aids in living, listening, and beholding each other. I offer them as small wonders found and cared for through the years. I hope you might find one that, held close to your heart, will serve as a guide.

Incandescence

I have worked months on lines like these.

But I am not these lines nor the effort to shape them.

Now that I have written books I find I am not a book.

Now that I have sung bouquets of song,

I confess I am not the song.

Now that I have loved,

I discover that what I am shows itself to be touched but is not the touch.

Even when feeling the wind blow aside the veils I cling to,

even when loving the instant of seeing,

I am not what is sighted nor the instant it is seen.

Undressed of all there is to do,

I vanish in a gesture that is everywhere.

The End of All Striving

In the moment of reading in public,

I coax the bird in my chest to wake and fly above the audience.

And finding no way out, he returns to tuck his wings and perch above my heart.

I often wait till everyone has left; to see if the emptiness was happy with my offering.

This time, the man who cleans up shuffles in.

After stacking the chairs, he puts out his hand, “I saw a lot of your books in the basement.”

We shake. He adds, “I haven’t read any.” I’m quick to say, “That’s alright.”

We sit on a table for a while. I ask, “Why’d you want to meet?”

He shrugs, “My friend told me you have a nice smile.”

Poems were excerpted from The Way Under the Way: The Place of True Meeting by Mark Nepo, published by Sounds True, November 2016.

Mark Nepo continues to offer readings, lectures, and retreats.

Visit Mark at MarkNepo.com and ThreeIntentions.com