Prayer

by John Butterfield

Beating your head

on a rock

can surely be easier

and more satisfying

than this endless round of

asking

petitioning

hammering

and yet never seeming

to get in the door

no matter how hard the battering

standing always on the portal

in the hope

that the householder will

someday emerge

and reward his persistent carollers

if only for their persistence!

Blue Silence

by John Butterfield

Silence leads to light

lighter than white, but blue

as the name, much repeated

calls me deeper into the otherness

which is the sameness

but also the selfness

which defines and values

and raises perception

to make love visible as fireflies.

Love flows freely

from deep inner wells for

love cannot remain within

and still be love.

Peace flows in gently.

Calm: to later radiate benevolence.

Here I am free,

united and loved,

loving and present

waiting but not waiting

in the light

that is brighter than white:

the dawn blue of silence.