Welcoming 2023, I send love and hope to all and offer this thoughtful poem that was posted in Fr. Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations blog.
The poem “I Am” is by poet Dedan Gills (1945–2015), and read by his wife Belvie Rooks on CAC’s The Cosmic We podcast:
I Am
I am old and wise as the night. I am as beautiful as a bird in flight.
I am the moon and the sea. I am the robin and the bee. I am the soil and I am the tree.
I’m the lion and the gazelle. I am heaven and I am hell. I am the ring and I am the bell.
I am the joy and I am the tear. I am the brave and I am the fear.
I am the blistering desert. I’m the freezing snow.
I’m the cringing coward and the gentle hero.
I’m the aged and I am the young. I am the weak and I am the strong.
I am the smile and I am the frown. I am the pauper and I am the crown.
I am the wrong and I am the right. I am the day and I am the night.
I am now and I am never. I am yesterday and I am forever.
I am the bitter and I am the sweet. I live on the hill and I live on the street.
I am the top and I am the bottom. I am Martin, Hitler, Gandhi, and Saddam.
I am red, black, yellow, brown, and white. I love, hate, laugh, cry, and fight.
All the universe is reflected in me. I am all that ever was and ever will be.
When I lose, it’s the lesson that I win. Judging others is my sin.