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The following, including the poem, is an excerpt from my book, “The Eternal Fountain of Youth.”  (The book is extremely strong medicine; no one should read it unless they are very stable.  eternalfountainofyouth.com):

When we think that the big can exist without the little, we are wrong.  When we think that left can exist without right, we are wrong.  When we think that the sailor is not the sails, we are wrong.  When we think that the mountain-climber is not the mountain that he conquers, we are wrong.  When we think that the figure skater is not very slick, we are wrong.  When we think that the magician is not an illusion, we are wrong.  When we think that the “perceiver” is truly separate from “the perceived,” we are wrong. 

from Walt Whitman:

When the script preaches instead of the preacher,

When the pulpit descends and goes instead of the carver that

      carved the supporting desk,

When I can touch the body of books by night or by day, and

      when they touch my body back again,

When a university course convinces like a slumbering woman and

      child convince,

When the minted gold in the vault smiles like the night-watchman’s

      daughter,

When warrantee deeds loafe in chairs opposite and are my friendly

      companions,

I intend to reach them my hand, and make as much of them as

      I do of men and women like you.

Metamorphosis (2). Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

Metamorphosis (1). Photo by Thomas Peace 2015