Pinnacle and Paradox

By J. Carlstad

Changing faces of immense depths

Sweep before me

Moved by the elements

Of a world I adore

And I watch

I wait

I plunge

in to the experiences

The sensations of the oceans

The depths of the soul

This life

Before me

Blues, grays, greens

Crystalline ice of northern origin,

Guided by fiery warmth of a distant sun,

currents of life - death

Flow on a tidal mission

Of evolutionary goals

I exist

Soul assuaged by

Softly flowing waters of sensitivity

Powerful passion and roar of unforgiving waves washing clean

The sins of humanity

Cleansing the shores of this soul

With renewal

And the groaning of the Earth’s birth

In wonders such as these

Meet the winds who

carry forth voices of the Valkyries

Through depths of my soul

And around the gray rocky shores of strength and resilience

withstanding the mists of uncertainty

I feel I’m basking in the beauty

The wonder of an immense iceberg

As it warms to its journey

A powerful density

Of ethereal quality

Wherein one may observe and be amazed by glints of light, reflection

Of hidden knowledge and illumination

Awareness now, have I of

this beauty, its power, a presence I

Am privileged to acquaint

But can not hold, possess,  

Nor prevent its movement

Towards destinies unknown

And, although I am in awe, am inspired

Find wonder and peace in this spectacle

And unspeakable joy to the foundations of this soul’s existence

At the synchronicity

That God’s design

Has aligned my path with this pinnacle

I fear that my time to enjoy

All of the facets

That may be presented

In sight, sound, touch, and renewal

will not be long embraced before

its beauty is recognized

Before it moves along

On an unknown but preordained path of its own

On the currents which bear it

Upon this journey

I weep with joy at the wonder

And the fulfillment

Reveling in the moment,

Wondering how I came to be at this spot

In this time

Right now???  To experience this?

And yet I grieve with the immensity of a sorrow beyond time

For the elusiveness of our lives

Which like a butterfly may be

Marveled upon, but

Which may never be restrained

Or restricted from the path of its flight

As one can not stop the iceberg from

Its reformation and journey through the seas…