Naomi Ruth Lowinsky
The One and the Many
for Richard
Here we are again in the midst of the turning world
at one with the One who sings down the sun
on the beach at San Pancho
the One who flings buckets of gold
then plunges all that glory into a cloud gone
as a goner can be but Look
this baby comes back all aglow from the womb in the sky
at one with the ebb and the surge with the sitters in sand
under purple and pink umbrellas We two are at one
watching the saga of sky our skulls touch
so fragile so hard these vessels
so full of what has been ours
and the hippies outside their tents throw balls for their dogs
their tattooed dragons and snakes luminous in late light
at one with the One who sings in Dorian mode
that music of yearning arouses the egrets they flap great wings
fly into the palms at one with the One who turns day into night
flings a rapturous veil from above to below
where The Beloved watches over many turtle hatchlings
They clamber over each other in plastic pails yearning
for Great Mother Sea a gust of wind lifts a woman’s skirt
and the one who speaks in my dreams
about how to bring the ineffable into words warns
Be careful don’t try to squeeze immensity
into too small a vessel
Light creates angular rays a veil a tent a pyramid
descend become circle touching the waves
as the pelicans do in their flight
could be saying ice castles
could be saying the three is the four
is the whole sphere of being
could be saying girl in a green dress
playing cat’s cradle
skies blaze behind her
or could be the one who just passed
out of his body over the River Jordan
his many angles his circles his aching rainbow at one
with above and below
It doesn’t stop here
It never stops changing
the One whose hand works the loom
changes the colors of thread
changes designs a sleepy fishing village
becomes a surging boomtown
bristles with beach condominiums
upscale shops restaurants
cacophonous bands compete in the streets
while back in the U S of A
a country careens
off its rails
Still the sky continues its saga Look
those tiger eyes have burst
into tiger lilies
blankets are thrown on the fiery One
fire fights fire as though the sun
were trying to rise from the dead
the whole horizon aflame
with the name of the One
who sings down the sun
in Dorian mode in bluesy lessening light’s surrender
Dusk wins Moon vessel floats by
The Beloved declares It’s safe It’s time
for the hatchlings’ release
They wobble on new legs in wet sand
so hard so fragile their skulls
heading into the surf We watch
we souls in mortal bodies
Primordial Turtle’s the One who sings in us
We gasp as a wave carries those babies
all the way home
As Decreed by the Invisible
Forget the promise of May in Venice
though your honey’s been planning it for many a moon
Forget the palazzo you’ve stayed in before
its third-floor view of the Grand Canal
Forget the gondolas the water taxis the vaporetti
They’re not overflowing with laughing crowds not gliding through
the waterways They’re all tied up at their piers
Their handlers are sheltering in place
So are you You won’t be
wending your way through narrow streets
across arched bridges to an intimate restaurant
by a small canal where you and your love will watch
light fade dusk fall while drinking a shimmering
Veneto bianco and feasting on risotto di mare
The restaurant is closed The chef is feverish coughing
feels like an elephant has stomped on his chest There is no bed
for him in the hospital The air is heavy laden
with the agony I see I who can’t be seen
though I’m running the show
though I wear a golden crown a halo a corona
though I shake the leaves whip up the air that belongs
to us all passes through lungs into bloodstreams and trees
into everything that is including me I sparkle
in Venetian glass gather droplets
of sneeze scatter the virus
you’ll never know whose vital force will ebb away next
Truth be told you don’t believe in me don’t believe the unseen
has power over all your brilliant technologies
The joke is your airplanes your stock markets
your fancy red car that talks to you
are all hiding out from me
Now I’m the boss Stay home It’s time not
to get on an airplane time not
to drive through heavy traffic time not
to go to very important meetings It is time
to take a slow walk with your sweetie around the neighborhood
It’s a glorious day in early spring time to smell
the magnolia blossoming outside
the child care center time to delight
in the yellow red and purple jungle gym but where
are the children? Time to contemplate the sign
in the window “How do we end this divisiveness?”
I am not the divider I hold you all in my grip Look
the sky is a clearer blue than you’ve seen in many a moon
The Grand Canal is running clear full of fish even a jellyfish
I give you time
to sit in your yellow velvet chair to visit with
the dark-skinned bride you helped dress
in a dream She wanted a slinky tight white gown
through which her skin would glow This gorgeous
visitor from the unseen has come to help you see
joy in terrible times You wonder
Where is the groom? She says
You’re breathing the unseen beloved
enters your lungs
enters your heart
is everywhere
