Wednesday, January 14, 2009
And If I Awaken in Los Angeles
AND IF I AWAKEN IN LOS ANGELES
I will find a crazy boy teetering there
on the sidewalk against morning traffic,
too far gone to even ask for a quarter.
I will hear his mother call for him,
her spirit confused by the taste
of sadness,
and though she searches for him
everywhere,
she will never find him here.
And if I awaken in Los Angeles
I will hear the lost beloved one
sing Billie Holiday in my ear--
she lives in a parallel universe,
is kind to rats and does
no harm to anyone.
And if I awaken in Los Angeles I will know
that I am not the only dreamer.
I will appear in the vision of a dove
who perches on the balcony
of the apartment.
In his translation I am the human with a store
of birdseed. He is the sun.
I am a fruitful planet.
And if I awaken in Los Angeles
I will not have to get up and say my prayers
to the east, and look out over the city of millions,
past the heads of palm trees, through foggy breezes--
because I will be a prayer as I perform the rituals
of being a human.
There will
be no difference
between
near and far.
This morning I have too much to do to awaken.
I say my prayers, feed the birds,
then head to the refrigerator and forget.
Joy Harjo
Very interesting. Being lost in the land of millions to finding god by being human, doing the everyday stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind to rats too, feed the birds n squirrels- n can't stand city life!