Medicinal Love Poem from the Universe

a medicinal love poem from the universe

stand up and read it out loud to a jazz track

open your window, stick your head out and shout it to your neighbors

claim it and proclaim it

namaste, pkh

KNOW THIS

know this, friend

my love is the embodiment of angels

a flood of devas

a hurricane of cherubim and seraphim

encircling you, embracing you, lifting you

know this, child of god

when you look at the cloudless dome of the midwestern sky,

my love is wider

when you see the grandeur of mountains and know that its reverse

anchors it into the earth

my love is deeper

will the sun stop shining? will the wind stop blowing?

my love is a force of nature

infinite and irrepressible

know this, daughter

I will protect you with my own body

I will fight any demon

you can stink to the high heavens

be an asshole the size of iowa

kick scream punch me in the solar plexus and knock me off my feet

and I am still here

arms spread palms open

I will hold you through any storm

I will stay the night, watching and praying

know this, sister

I’m not letting you off the hook so quickly

don’t you break the promise you made with the angels, god, and me

to take human form and plant your feet here on scarred earth

to know suffering

to take it into your bones and your soul

so as to burn it up

and transform it

we are here to sit in the fire with each other

soulmate, know this

you have soul sisters

spirit mothers

boddhisattvas waiting in the wings for the invitation from you

we hear you and see you even when you’re determined to hide

we are at your beck and call to walk at your side

catch you when you falter

cradle, cajole, shake you awake to say

be here now

BE here now

be HERE now

be here NOW

NOW

now is the moment you have chosen

to bless us with your wild iridescent brilliance

a brilliance honed by lifetimes

tumbled and tossed, smoothed and polished

your wounds make you glow

beloved, know this

my love is a sliver of the infinite eternal

a ray of the sun

a drop in the ocean of the great lakes

a single blade of prairie grass

one link in the story of the interconnected self

in which multitudes embrace you

clouds and beetles and dandelions

children with sticky summer skin

squirrels balanced on powerlines

lightning piercing night sky

all fully present in your story—our story—to bear loving witness

know this, teacher

you matter more than rain

you matter more than earthworms

you matter more than paychecks

you matter more than poems

your significance cannot be measured in earthly terms

your reasons for being here cannot be counted out

only our souls convey your irreplaceability

why you have taken this pain, why now, why here

only our souls know

and we thank you

thank you for staying

thank you for bearing it

thank you for being in the story with me

thank you for this breath

this moment to be

pure electric

sparkling radiant

alive