River Stone Running

Half essays and half poems, River Stone Running examines traditions of direct address by humans in dialogue with spirit or spirits or gods: something wondrous. The passages chosen here, from Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous religions, differ from one-sided prayer in that they often present some form of reply from the god or spirit.

Join in when the medieval visionary Julian of Norwich and ecstatic poet Rumi introduce their gods as "merry" or "laughing." Compare Socrates' "inner oracle," a nudge that steers him from folly, to the hand sensations that guide a Native American medicine seer to select among possible remedies. Hear how Hindu singers address their gods in terms usually reserved for a lover. Then discover how Old Testament prophets, long scornful of Middle Eastern fertility worship, surprisingly borrow a similar passionate imagery to describe Yahweh and his "bride." Follow modern Jewish philosopher Martin Buber in making the interchange of I and Thou the necessary catalyst to allow sacredness to come into the world.

The second half of River Stone Running assembles my own poetry in series such as "Consulting at Julian's Window," "For Rumi: What's in a Face?" and "Buddha Footprints in Stone." Often, a still-learning I-speaker in the poems questions someone (a human teacher from the first half? a god? a somehow signaling tree or octopus?), in order to participate in the invitation of the book as a whole to enter into a dialogue. The poems pay attention to ordinary people, with real personal or political problems, on the theory that, if our various religions don't work for us in our lives, where would they work?