VISIONS

                                                  “I said to the almond tree,
                                                  ‘Sister, speak to me of God.’
                                                  And the almond tree blossomed.”
                                                             Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco

All prophesy is poetry
Prophet and poet —
Both are blossoms
Of the same almond tree.

                                                   “All creation or passage of non-being into being is poetry.”
                                                                              Plato, Symposium, 205

Prophet and poet
Both are seers —
They see the world’s amiss,
They see worlds
That others miss.        

                                                  "[what] enabled them [poets] to write their poetry [is] a kind of instinct or inspiration,

                                                                                    such as you find in seers and prophets...."     

                                                                                           Socrates (Plato)   Apology, 22           

Prophet and poet
Both are dreamers —
They dream dreams
Others dare not.
They dare to dream of that which is not
But ought to be.
They dream dreams of a world
Where justice, equality,
Freedom and truth,
Fill hearts and minds and souls.

Prophet and poet
Both have visions —
They have visions of Love and Life and Beauty:
Visions of Beauty that transfigures the mundane;
Visions of Life filled with beauteous love;
Visions of Love that fills the heart
And the world
With joy and serenity.

Prophet and poet
Both are inspired —
They are inspired by visions and dreams.
Caught up in ecstasy,
They stand outside themselves
And watch the words
Pour forth, gush forth —
Their source somewhere other
Than their everyday selves.
Prophetic and poetic inspiration —
Their source is the same —
An ecstatic encounter
With the sublime.

By Sister Ioanna
St. Innocent Monastic Community,
Redford, MI

From: VISIONS of Love & Life & Beauty, published by Firebird Videos, Audios & Books