James Moore Poet Narrative

Notes About The Poem

"Triptych -Three Lives", 2011, original acrylic and oil

Three Lives - Stages of the Path

There are three stages along the path
Of realization and accomplishment.
The first involves outer form,
Keeping the discipline, persevering
Even when there is no light.

The second begins when awareness dawns,
A glimpse of our true nature
Like a shy fish looking up out of the pond.
This is the stage of true faith and devotion
As this insight of inner light becomes the center.

The third stage is just more of the second,
A repeated familiarity with our basic nature
Through direct experience and awareness.
With familiarity comes a softening of the edges
A loosening at the core.

As the sublime becomes the everyday,
The shy fish now a flock of starlings
Confident in their numbers
Fluid and graceful in their murmuration,
A cloud of unknowing for all to see.

(9/22/26)

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