Beside Still Waters

They all dwell together in the Holy Ark

The whole tablets and the broken pieces

The fear, the greed, the envy,

The judgement, the hunger,

The rage.

All these jagged slabs

All of this, too -

The wanting, the bragging, the dreaming,

The impatience, the intolerance.

It is all here.

In a human package.

Along with the courage, the love, the generosity, the energy, the joy, the wisdom, the tenderness.

All there. All mixed together.

A human being

Separate and unique.

Related and the same as you and me.

But the broken bits have no enduring substance.

They soon turn to dust.

And the whole tablets are the ark,

Contained in and containing all.

From the book "Beside Still Waters"