poetry
The Search
Originally published in Cathexis Northwest
I searched for you in churches with their tales of virgin birth
and in the savage jungle with my palms against the earth.
I searched for you in ritual, reciting written prayer
in temples high atop the clouds, but never found you there.
I searched for you in Hebrew, which my tongue could never speak,
and studied the philosophies taught by the ancient Greeks.
I searched for you in prophets with their promises of glory,
who took away my food, insisting hunger would restore me.
I searched for you in yoga with my arms stretched toward the sky,
adorned myself with crystals to repel the evil eye.
I searched for you in potions that would set my mind adrift,
in circles loudly chanting to produce a cosmic shift.
I searched for you in music, learning hymns and sacred tunes,
and in the premonitions of the scattered Viking runes.
I searched for you in carvings on the cliffs of Machu Picchu,
and trusted all the gurus who had said that they could reach you.
The Bible’s Book of Matthew tells us, “Seek and ye shall find,”
but searching led me far from you, for I’d been searching blind.
At last, my search confirmed what I had known right from the start.
I found you where you’d always been; I found you in my heart.
Originally published in Cathexis Northwest Press, 2023
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