Psalm 60
Can it be three months since
You first came to this place?
Three short months since
i first walked these sacred hallways…
i was so afraid…
Your first-born, ever-responsible son
Trying my best to protect you…
Yet (as ever), you protect me!
You are the wise Anchoress of Bush Wing…
& i… a man with spittle and earth
In his eyes…
Your path is exact…
Each day you say less & less…
Invite more & more from me…
All my cleverness…
All my wordiness comes to nothing…
It is presence you seek…
Not what i say but how i say…
Not what i hear but how i hear…
Not what i see but how i see…
Not what i do but how i do…
You seek heart
& thus become the defining question of my life…
& i (ever blinking spit & grit from my eyes)
Am led (visit by visit) to new perception…
You are Christ my Mother
You educate within the ache of this world…
You are all i struggle to avoid…
& everything… this inadequate heart…
Needs
Kevin Moran 21/3/08… Good Friday
Whakapapa: As I visited & supported my mother in the ‘Bush Wing’ dementia ward, she became a teacher & guide to me. In the psalm, my mother is an ‘anchoress.’ The most well known anchoress was Julian of Norwich (born 1342). She was a wise woman who people came to for spiritual & practical counsel. She is known for her teaching that Christ is our Mother… because Christ (or the Self) offers rebirth in this world. The phrase ‘spittle & earth’ comes from John’s gospel, chapter 9, where Jesus heals a man born blind. Jesus spat in earth & rubbed it (a number of times) in the man’s eyes. This action symbolises the ongoing journey of spiritual awakening. I read this poem at my mother’s funeral.