What If
November 30, 2009
by Paul Goldman
I ceased putting off any longer all
that needs doing now? Immediately
I set to recast the canvas of my life,
to paint anew each of the karmic
stains carried from lifetime to lifetime
accumulated now above palette
and paints.
Pure white shimmered around the perimeter
as I emptied each act, thought or deed gathered
from the myriad moments of eons
onto the empty slate.
To my surprise each splatter dried, casting
clues to unseen mysteries heretofore not
revealed. Still, the picture painted did not
yet satisfy these eyes.
With brush raised, I begin to channel all
the masters: Van Gogh, Monet and even
Titian—
new hues dotted, stroked and spattered
as whole bits and chunks of karma
transformed until a beautiful panoramic view
unparalleled dropped me to my knees as
I settled on the scene of my life set before
me now.
What if I had finally solved the puzzle
of my self-created Zeno’s paradox to reveal
a continuum in space and time where I —
a motionless runner—
had always been? Unvarnished now, I sit
waiting— beside the tender shoots of the
newly planted Bodhi Tree in my own
backyard.
Paul Goldman is a published ecstatic poet whose work can be found online at www.stonespiritlodge.com, www.kansaspoets.com, and www.artistshelpingthehomeless.org. His poetry has been published in Evolving Magazine, Spirit Seeker and in various Midwest literary journals. A video segment of a recent poetry reading can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FTtW1bm7l8.
