Deep Gratitude, High Praise: a poem with birds in it, and not the kind you eat.

Deep Gratitude, High Praise  
after Psalm 111 

Alleluia! The deepest in me 
Belongs to so much deeper, higher. 
Cormorants paddle past me 
Disappearing below the surface, 
Emptying elegant rows. 
For a few moments, as they move through 
Gray clouds doubled from 
High above their heads, 
I am distinctly aware that 
Just as these swimming birds 
Keep diving underwater, 
Leaving rippled traces on the 
Mirrored sky, and in emergence 
Never tell me what they’ve seen below, 
Oh, I know. Though I won’t 
Pretend to know the words to say.  
Quiet eyes and quiet minds 
Resist my weary words, but 
Something out there is inside me too, 
Trawling sky and silt the same; 
Underneath is also higher, 
Very high, and somehow also deep, 
Where my heart’s private chamber 
Exits out on all in all, and 
Your heart helps me climb to the 
Zenith of the deepest ocean’s depth. 

---

You can listen to me read it here:
https://soundcloud.com/benwhitepoetry/deep-gratitude-high-praise

Happy Thanksgiving!