God bless the woods I won’t seek a way out of
God bless the snake I want to let live in the grass
God bless the ground that has kept slipping out
from under me
God bless the hell and high water I have come through
(and these waters, for running so deep)
God bless the stone walls I have run into
(trying to arrive at where one never stops arriving)
God bless the wrong trees I have barked up
God bless the crow I have had to eat
(the taste of which is unmistakable)
God bless the rain I at times haven’t known enough to come
out of
God bless the wind to which I have thrown some,
but not all, caution
God bless the mountains that have been moved by my
faith (even without my knowing it)
God bless the clouds my head has been in
God bless the bird in the air I have felt as free as
God bless the earth I always come back down to
God bless the sky for not being the limit
God bless the stars that have been in my eyes
(by which all that I love brightly shines)
God bless the moon that lives in the man
God bless the sun whose light, in dawning, I am
just now beginning to see
Botsford, Alan. mamaist: learning a new language. Kamakura, Japan, Minato No Hito, 2002.
