The people stood at the foot of the mountain—
We were unbound then // awakened from watery sleep
when the earth cracked open & sound poured out like lava.
We were undecided then // bathed in sulfur and smoke
when thunder split the mountain // when lightening
scorched our heels. Poised on the edge of desire // enveloped
by rumbling flashes, the words entered our consciousness
like a tornado—
In the bleached-blind wilderness we stood // amid
fire clouds and roaring triumph // amid searing trumpets
& our endless endless wanting // and we were afraid.
Ruthless present tense // Mobius arc of time—
We were joined to each other then // to the blistering
mountain // the vertiginous moment // every noun and verb
exploded through the wilderness. Chosen agnostics,
we declaimed yes to deliverance // yes to unspecified
constraint. To the shattering of silence // to the shattering
of stone. For you not yet able to speak, we said yes
From we who desire by Sue Swartz
