New poem: "Life is the Only Religion"

 Life Is the Only Religion

 

“This life is the way, the long sought-after

way to the unfathomable, which we call

divine. There is no other way, all other ways

are false paths,” said my mentor Jung.

 

I didn’t need it, but I got confirmation

the other day that life is the only religion,

and the message came to me by way

of a young visitor who dropped in on me

unexpectedly to say hello; —

 

His name is Luca, and he was our cottage

neighbor before his grandmother sold

their family cottage. He was only eight years

old, and a feisty little devil who reminded

me of me, and I loved his company; —

 

He’s eighteen now, with all that devilish

energy pouring into his incentivized dreams,

still playing his drums, doing well in school,

working at his uncle’s paving and construction

business, sweetly balanced in every way; —

 

He drove up from Toronto with two young

lady friends who wanted to see where Luca

used to swim in Georgian Bay, and after dropping

them off by the water he came to pay his respects

to his old mentoring neighbor; —

 

I thanked God for the serendipitous surprise,

so low was I from the writer I was reading,

whose brilliant prose and erudition had a way

of depressing me, but within minutes young

Luca set my heart free with his bounce

and happy energy;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We only talked for ten minutes or so, telling me

his plans to study business at college to grow

in his uncle’s business (hoping to take over one

day), the “nice Italian girl” he’s dating, who’s

going into law, and life was good to him— “But

you have to work for it,” he wisely said.

 

And when he drove away, blowing the horn

of his shiny black 2014 Ford pickup, paid for with

his own money, as he had paid for a vintage 1982

Camaro that he had just restored on his own,

young Luca left me so proud of what he’s doing

with his life that I heard God whisper into

my ear, “Life is the only religion.”

 

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Georgian Bay, Ontario