do good, look not at whom
Mother at times would quietly preach
those little, mostly aphorisms guiding life
do good, she would say, and look not at whom
would be a succinct moment of guidance
then i had no way of knowing
my mother was in the book Abou Ben Adhem spoke of
although quite the Catholic member
her advice was beyond the reach of dogma
it was something more you might find sitting
on some Texas farm porch where she stemmed
something more based in the uncommon
common sense
possibly minus the Y chromosome
far removed from the maddening crowds
far removed from the hypocrisy of Pharisaism
that only a lyncian eye sitting on a porch
could grasp as it moved through existence
that a bowl of cereal sitting on the table
had its roots in a fertile earth
connected to the deepest love we share
an existence beyond Pharisaical grasping
and its anthem was a simple quest
do good, look not at whom
nothing more complicated
nothing more asked
no offering required
no ma needing dogma
we inhabited an existence
where animals ate first
we were mentored
they are gifts from God
respected as such
which leads me to believe
in the book Abou Ben Adhem spoke of
are more categories than we know of
and in a universe of two trillion galaxies
my guess, more than a possibility
a leap of faith hints membership may depend
on a funeral service more than dogma
Oregon 9/12/26
In memory of Beverly, a possible agnostic whose contributions to the church bake sales won her a funeral, and my father, also Catholic, who never raised an eyebrow when informed I was seen at a big tent revival. Several, actually, loved that singing; it was on my paper route.
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