Want a ride to the other side
of your vision of me
so you can see who I really am?
Beyond a fanciful procession of animals
entering the ark
bathed in light?
I’m a head that’s one-third eyes
a winged body that can soar
power hides within
I’m eyes of the horse
round and profound
a sense of recognition of things beyond
a crocodile who sees your emotional world
with healing power
and a sense of humour
my leopard’s third eye searches the unknown
with faith and courage
for what will emerge
my cat-black iris and white slit pupil
look out with poise and interest.
There’s nothing to understand
it’s all about eyes
revealing nothing but more eyes
reflecting my searching eye
as you stare back through the deer’s vital eye
into the mythical world beyond
the red circle you thought was sun at sunset
recalls the ball of yarn and the blood
of those lost in the labyrinth
you see the ram fearful and alone
then as brave intermediary
honoured by animal deities
complementary coloured ravens
bring light to the people
as night wakens to day
and day bleeds into night
not everyone has the same vision
the part offered up readily
is a distraction
look to the subtle background.
We long for nature without danger
like a child’s storybook
toddlers and animals with no malice
across a chasm from adults
boy and coyote intermingled
a wondrous shared life energy
a land on which creatures stand
another creature itself
all the earth, God’s sacred mount
I want to stand with her
and take in the beauty and peace
of endless water
so I think about my static suppositions
as the sky turns ominously dark
offering a feeling of comfort.
How can I thank you for all that has been created?
Just a miracle would suffice
but you also create a future.
Yes, I hide my eggs everywhere
my tadpoles bloom in every puddle
I am the leaping, soft mystery of life
you hesitate to touch
***
Image: photo by Laura Duhan-Kaplan. Detail of a poster warning against the ash borer beetle, onto which someone has pasted a giant craft jiggly eye, now reflecting the photographer.
Poem: Written by members of the ALEPH Kallah class “Animals as Jewish Spiritual Teachers,” July 2018. After studying animals in Torah and midrash, we contemplated artistic images of various animals, and wrote our responses. Each class member contributed a sentence; Laura edited them together.
WOW!!
Thanks, Leora! It was so great to study with this group.
It is beautiful! Thank you for weaving this tapestry with such skill.
Thank you, Jill! Your words that close the poem have so many meanings!
This comment is in response to your class at Aleph Kallah.
First I was struck by the great need of students for their teachers to hear what they are thinking and feeling. And I was very struck by your great patience to really listen, your presence, and your embrace of your students’ response. Your presence in listening truly embodied relationship, and at least in my experience is quite difficult to accomplish.
Secondly, in our discussion about animals, how we observe them, how we relate to them brought about an awakening in me about relationship with them and our fellow human beings, who of course are part of the same living network.
I visited with a PHD nursing home resident who is bit hard to relate to, but when I talked about our class, he was able to respond right away about his love for animals and that was an opening for how in Torah others imagined their relationship to animals. He really found it quite interesting, and I thank you for providing another way to look at our relationship with with animals, and thus bring us closer to each other.
And finally, I want to thank you for your accepting presence which has led me to look at how I look at others, and also realize how for better or worse how others look at me.
Looking forward to following your blog.
Sandy
Sandy, Thank you for these kind words. I’m so glad the class was meaningful for you AND that you brought it into your work. Looking forward to future updates!