An Invitation to Mystery

Blessed are You,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
for caterpillars,
who quietly eat their way
from size zero to plus-size.

When they grow up
they find a place to hang
from their last proleg,
upside down.
Do they know they will never
eat another leaf?
that their next meal
and every meal thereafter
will be liquid?
Do they know they will
keep only their six front legs?

We humans were like caterpillars
in the garden of Eden,
squishy and naked,
immersed in plenty.
But we didn’t trust the plenty,
didn’t trust ourselves,
didn’t trust God.
We left the mystery of plenty
for the certainty of scarcity.
Perhaps it would have been better for us
to surrender to love,
and to allow love
an element of mystery.

Instead we work
to stay the same size,
the same shape,
eat the same leaves.
We use what we know
to fight against God
and each other,
forgetting that mystery
has its own peace,
and not-knowing sometimes
makes butterflies.