“We have not lost our soul:” a poem-prayer for awakening and transformation

We have not lost our soul

It is just that our hands
are full, and we needed
to set something down 
to hold all we felt
we needed to hold.

We made a choice
as to what we would worship,
and our knees have bent
to the idols we thought
would satisfy our yearning.

Our soul lies on the cool grass 
while we dance with anger,
a partner who is never satisfied 
until we are consumed,
leaving only ash.

The cruel spirits of rage and revenge, 
whose thirst is never quenched,
have no temples for themselves,
but seek out the soft spaces
in our hearts that we must guard
so they never possess
that which is most precious.

Beware their acolytes who only seek
to fan flames of division
for their own profit.

Yet each leaf that rustles,
each crow that calls,
each stranger that smiles
is an invitation to pause 
and love once more.

The soul is a muscle
that connects us to everyone 
at once, and it must be
strengthened over time
lest we forget who we are.

The paradox is the only way
to make our soul stronger 
is to yield our grasp
and listen to Wisdom’s song,
resting in the embrace
that holds all life together.

The Spirit speaks once more:
I set before you life and death.
Choose life.

--Stuart Higginbotham