A Clanging Cymbal

The rumble and buzz of cars

that blots out birdsong

is but one bleating sound

in a constellation of noise,

a devil (if I believed in the devil)-

designed distraction from

the voice in the cave

of my heart

that I do believe in.

So, I will arise and go now,

and go to New Camaldoli

and there a cell of silence seek,

a shady seat beneath

the fruiting fig tree, and

            Mother Pacific,

            O Father Sky,

a view of blue further than I can see.

Drench me in Your breezy quietude

and remind me in the cooing of the dove

that I am nothing if I have not love.

With appreciation to St. Paul (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) and W.B. Yeats (The Lake Isle of Innisfree)

A collage of sunbeams streaming into the sanctuary at New Camaldoli, a bench on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and a garden

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Mary Camille Thomas

Mary Camille Thomas is a native of Santa Cruz who is grateful to make her home on the California coast once more after living internationally and on the road. She studied comparative literature at UC Davis and received a master’s degree in library science from UCLA, which gave her a way to earn a living while making a life among books. Her poetry and essays have appeared in the Monk in the World Guest Post Series, Moving Force Journal, Presence, Porter Gulch Review, Second Wind, Sisters Singing, and The New Story, and she has completed a novel called What Lies Buried about a man reckoning with his family’s Nazi past.

6 thoughts on “A Clanging Cymbal”

  1. Mary:

    Nice.

    Read “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson, if you havem’t already. Read it, as the gambler says, and weep.

    Jerry

    On Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 08:38 The Kingdom of Enough wrote:

    > Mary Camille Thomas posted: ” The rumble and buzz of cars that blots out > birdsong is but one bleating sound in a constellation of noise, a devil (if > I believed in the devil)- designed distraction from the voice in the cave > of my heart that I do believe” >

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  3. Oh Mary…ring the bell that can be rung….beautiful poem…beautiful heart …the lead up to the last line…sooo heart opening…thank you.

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  4. Well, this is quite a tribute to The Hermitage and Yeats! But really it is your contemplative nature seeking refuge and here is where you have landed to appreciate all the surrounding beauty.. May you realize the blessing of spiritual fulfillment.

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