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“O, Awaken”

~on “Monks Chanting ‘Om’,” by Elizabeth Darrow

“We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh

Open to the joyous confetti
mottling a dark indigo world, they intone the holy
Word. Three whole figures, yes, but note how two,
each halved, on either side, would connect,
forming another one, if you rolled the canvas
into a sonorous tube. Hold
it to your mouth, like a hollow
horn, echoing their song: om. Hold
it to one eye, to observe, closely,
through this focused scope like the monks’ own
souls, portrayed here as portals. Look.
Then, letting the monocle drop, let your vision
absorb the whole: how the colorful pieces
on these gallery walls orbit in harmonious unison!
How joyous confetti surrounds us,
too: this is the monks’ orison,
this the vision, the offering, of the artist: open yourself, now.
Become the fifth voice of common wonder.

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