Richness of Life

By Jane Chin and Lewis Marshall

We seek enlightenment as that
Pristine,
Antiseptic,
Clinical outcome
By attempting and adopting a
Pristine,
Antiseptic,
Clinical process

How we approach spirituality nowadays,
Makes me wonder if “enlightenment” has
Coalesced to a college course:
Standardized,
Certifiable,
Better yet -
Offered by Remote
With crib notes
Available for sale by those
Who claim as graduates from the course
But of course whose price
Pales only next to that from those
Who claim authority to teach the course

We who have been born
Appreciate first-hand
How messy it is
To come unto this world
Our skull are split in pieces
So our heads stay in one
En route to the outside
This mess of gunk and goo
Serves to birth us safely through

This very Moisture and Richness of Life
This Yuck and Yum and Ha!
Is at once Glorious! Messy! Delicious

This very Moisture and Richness of Life
This Yuck and Yum and Ha!
Is at once God, Midwife, and Babe.

(I started this poem on January 22, and my friend Lewis helped finish it through our email dialogs – thank you, Lewis!)