Ritual of the Gaze

The Ritual of the Gaze (A Mirror Poem)

Foreword:

(Eyes- transfiguration of the soul, 

where images aren't only reflected but annotated with emotions, 

is there anything more sacred than sight?)

Script: 

I look at an idol in the incense haze-

Eyes anchor weight,                 and gazes liberate 

                    copper plates stained                 by holy visions/ voluntary delusions

                                 with sandalwood paste                 libating prophecies of peace.

Clairvoyance, Oracles and Dreams- the theology of sight-

The ontology of seeing,               painted eyes look at you

                                   the gentleness of being               the depth of the moment

                     known, invisible invocations               fleeting, fragmented, fostering- faith

                          relapsing connections                illusory in the smoke

                      found in the distance                burned in our gaze.      

The phantasmagoria of perception-

                              the white of the blistered                 jasmines from broken garlands,                                        

                                pale halo of the sun                 flickers with my belief-

                  clustered in glassy pupils                 waning and waxing like moon

                Divinity residing in the                 temporary altars of assurance

                 Temple of the eye                 God is sculpted through a gaze.

Postscript:

I close my eyes. Yet my vision extends, for what is prayer if not the act of seeking? Enlightenment- when vision is made clear, a sight which stretches beyond.