Michael Zysk

Cosm: No. 18, 19, 20, 21, & 22

18

Our root is invisible, infinite &

eternal, concealed from us by veils

of unknowing. This is neither specter

of I know nor I don’t know.

Unknowing is faith we actualize

by restraining ourselves, just as the Infinite

does, for us to choose. Our ancestors

walked through the sea on dry land,

between walls of I know and don’t. The further

inward, the more we taper. By each

veil of ourselves we offer, You

unveil Yourself, who leads us out

the dome of Pharaoh, until nothing.

Not as we think, but as I am.

19

I am the light of the world. How

is such light that casts shadows

from stars? Light that annihilates?

If forms cannot bear the force,

they break. Myriad bangs broke

and reformed this universe, its present

state of veils the dome. The heavens

rent apart as he came up

out of the water, but he did

not break. All the while, in

the wilderness & among us,

he held this annihilating light

behind his body. On the cross,

he breathed. The universe released.

20

Release from the dome is within the soul.

John ascended within while

a prisoner of Rome. So are

we. So shall we. Rapture

isn’t physical. Two in a field:

One inside will evaporate,

the other will remain. Heavenearth

is inside out. Self-offering

is revelation. Souls with

the Lamb stay to serve. For

this hour they have come. Inside

of them, all things are new, without

need of sun or moon. They know

there is no temple, but You.

21

You never demanded animal

offerings. That was our instinct.

If so, their lives would have atoned.

But they didn’t because animals

want to live, just like us.

The whole law is karma, exacting

consequence for action, fees

for what is manifest. So

it goes in the dome ruled

by brokers who buy and sell our lives.

In place of ourselves, we sacrificed

to them. It’s easy to say he paid

the debt. Much harder to know. When he

offered himself, he shows us how.

22

How he breathed his last. His body

weight sank on the nails. Silence

fell. Rumbling below shook

above. Powers began to roil.

Shockwaves from his body broke

the dome. Its horizon vanished.

Directions dissolved. Time collapsed.

He came to. In the void,

he spread his arms and dove, a shooting

star, piercing every veil

burning in his wake. His body

molten light, his blood fire

flashing through each layer, erupting

out the other side to rise.

A veteran English teacher-activist and faith leader of a mystical Christian tradition, Michael Zysk lives to connect. Reach out to him @michaelzysk or mz@michaelzysk.com.