In Love's Presence - let There Be Peace Poem by Smoky Hoss

Occasionally (and always unexpectedly)
there are found random gifts of perception,
small openings into the liminal spaces
where prayer becomes life, and life
is discovered as a prayer -
sheer moments lending light
to the understanding of great intangibilities
(not all that we are touched by
is palpable) .

- I walk alone, slowly,
gazing at small painted pictures
hung here and there upon the museum wall.
The local artist (no one of fame)
and I (no acclaimed critic)
are kindred spirits.
We seek no prominence, only each
(in our own related fashion)
are after a glimpse of the Mystical.
This is the extraordinary showing up in the ordinary.
This is a glance toward the enduring flow
between mortal and immortal.
This is the giving and receiving of vitality.
Today is my turn to receive.
I first see it at a vague distance, drawing me onward.
A few more steps and I stand in the nuance
of eternities glow, where
I feel overwhelmed, unworthy.
I stare mesmerized into a painted flower world,
I see love, looking back at me.
In this moment, the brokenness and turmoil
that so often is my life, becomes
completely dismantled.
I feel very unworthy, but
in Love's presence it does not matter;
and then, from somewhere in the room
- the painting, the flower, my heart? -
I hear Love's voice:
Let there be peace.
And for one incredible moment,
I glimpse the possible.
I find a living hope.
I find my place in the present.
I find peace within myself
that surpasses all understanding.