The Franciscan wrote of
starting small and working
up the chain
from a stone
to the “gaze divine,”
and back down again
in time.

He thought about his
life — up, down, high, low,
in and out
and all about —

stones, gaze, gaze, stones;
it all seems divine,
even that rattlesnake,
there, just ahead
on the right under
the scrawny, scrub
pine.

Be alert! Stop before
a burning bush
and gaze
into the divine.
The same goes
for what’s
under that
scrawny, scrub
pine.

He went for a jog
from the concrete and blacktop,
to the desert trails.
His spirit began to soar
until he spotted
a rattlesnake on the path
and he felt his heart beat fast.