Voice of the Desert Father

Voice of the Desert Father
(from "The Desert Father")

You have come to me
on your knees,
a seeker of wisdom,
and that is good.
But understand:
it is all the same to me.

You wish to know
what truth lies beyond
your comfortable envelope of flesh,
but are you ready
to lie down with that truth
in some cold, hard place
forever?
It is all the same to me.
Do you understand?

Before the sun sets
I can take away all
that you hold dear:
your pride will be first,
then your mind
will flow out;
your bones will stay here,
hard and sharp,
among the hard and sharp things
that have come here before.
It is all the same to me.

Do you understand?
It does not matter
whether you cling to life
or swim the river of time.
Who you think you are
means nothing here.
My own impossible
pinnacles and spires
will fall to dust tomorrow.
But here every instant
is miraculous
in an instant. Pay attention.

It is good you have come
on your knees.
But do you understand?
It is all the same to me.

Editor's comment: "The Voice of the Desert Father" is part of a longer poem, "The Desert Father," in which the persona enters a desert landscape, seeking enlightenment. The Father's hard words are what greet him there.