Reason, persisting

Reason, the traveler, never gets to God:
the traveler’s heart and soul are dust upon the road;
reason’s eyes are dry, unwashed by the love of God,
and blind, unwise to the holiness of God.
Reason, the innocent child, stirs up imagination
out of darkness; the child is moved to discuss eternity
with thoughtfulness and sensuality
until God shows up and sweeps it all away.
Reason, the ambitious bird, takes to the air,
a sparrow claiming the ranks of Gabriel,
but Reason too, like every Gabriel before the Lord,
must one day bow its head and fold its wing.
How can one describe God
if Reason denies that God’s the One,
the step at the start of the journey,
and the image before the dream?
How can one discuss God
if God is just an argument
and heaven is some distant place
beyond the rank and file?

O Lone Traveler, stumbling on your wicked soul,
O Raw Youth, caught up in your shallow sense,
O Poor Sparrow, making your way to majesty:
submit yourself to the One without a place.

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