Waves, Oceans and Flip-flopping - Bruce Silverman

[Larry Robinson]

Waves, Oceans and Flip-flopping 

think of a wave and then also, the ocean,
  a young branch and the trunk of a tree,
    a spent blossom and the stem of a rose,
      a broken heart and an act of forgiveness.

 each a willing sacrifice, a dying, a birthing,
   a doing what each was ordained to do. 

the branch, the perfect broken wing of the limb,
 the blossom, emitting the flower’s last fragrance,
   and forgiveness, the ultimate human reckoning.

how can we be both the fallen branch and
  the sturdy tree itself, the rose and its fragrant
     scent, the broken heart and the one forgiving?    

 by remembering that we are both human and divine,
    flip-flopping between tiny ephemeral splashes near 
       the shore and then, in a moment, the vast expanse
         of the great ocean.
        
         of the great ocean itself.

	- Bruce Silverman