Song of the Beating Pulse

"The Hand of God" © 2016 David Prashker

To listen to an audio recital of the poem, click here

Like a nurse examining a patient

 I touch the pulse
  where the rock beats
               meaning God

And I have sharpened the tooth of the dog
I have glittered with the glory of the hummingbird
I have sat in the sty of contentment
I have suffered the ecstasy of the animals

And I have touched the pulse where the rock beats
 dipped my ankles in the turning ocean
  when the tide ebbs
               meaning God

And I have touched the pulse
 in the bark of the cedar where it grows its rings
  and in the sighing of the human heart
   and in the blood-jet
               meaning God

And I have touched
 where the wound aches
  where the lover moans
   where the dead cry out
    mother daughter sister wife
               meaning God

And I have felt the snapping of the jaw
I have witnessed the culling of the bird
I have wallowed in the sty of discontent
I have suffered worse than any animal

Until the nurse
 examining the patient
  touches the stilled pulse
   where the flesh is cold and dead as rock

and the silence whispers in the darkness
               meaning God




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Copyright © 2016 David Prashker

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