The Only Thing You Know

Go to the mat

and lie prostrate against

the cold winter within you

Go to the cathedral

eyes turned upward toward the light

streaming in through the glass mosaic

of Jesus tending sheep

knowing you will never feel his hand on you

as these sheep did long ago

and yet you stand

or kneel, hopeful,

for a different kind of touch

one that comes unbidden

melting muscles tight in your shoulders

muscles tight within your chest

heart beating slowly now

to the rhythm of your deepening breath

Go to the mountains

walking through pine trees

with your senses alert to some sign

that the spirits of the deep Earth

are listening

paying attention to the fall of humans

in the great cities and suburbs

hoping they will speak and tell you secrets

that you can tell your children

in the dark of night

when the wind swirls outside your window

and you doubt the rising

of the sun or

the coming of the Christ

though you never say this aloud

Go to the silence

for this is all you know to do

this is all the prophets and wise ones say to do

Go as if your life and

the lives of your children’s children

depended on it

go to the mat

to still your beating heart

because it is the only thing

you know you can do   

             ~ Michelle St. Romain Wilson