In God Makes the Rivers to Flow; An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry & Prose, Eknath Easwaran includes a selection from Elizabeth of the Trinity entitled “O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore.” I’ve written the following poem-like reflections inspired by this selection.
Forgetting
O my God,
Trinity whom I adore,
help me to forget myself entirely
that I may be established in You
as still and as peaceful
as if my soul were already in eternity.
—Elizabeth of the Trinity
Help me to forget the lawn that’s too wet to mow,
the friend who scolded me,
the man who dumped me,
my feet,
the group of women I will meet with tonight,
my hands,
the nurse who restrained me,
my stomach,
the needles in the mental hospital,
my heart,
the psychiatrist who ordered my blood drawn against my will,
my arms,
my nose,
my mouth,
the children I have never been able to have,
my absent womb,
the scar from my hysterectomy,
my abdomen,
my lungs,
my breath,
my knees,
the time my parents petitioned that I be admitted to the mental hospital,
the poems I’ve written,
my violin,
the piano,
the money I owe for a training that hasn’t paid off,
my bank account,
my credit card,
the job I worked that stifled my soul,
my lack of clients,
my legs,
my ears,
the promises I didn’t keep,
the way my ex would boss me around,
the way my mom always tells me what to do,
the way my mom supports me,
the things my mom does for me,
the room I’m in,
my computers,
my bed,
my tendency to nap,
my fear of work,
my fear of not being able to concentrate,
the way I dread cleaning,
the loss of my dad,
the friends I’ve lost touch with,
the things I want to say to the people who hurt me,
the things I want to say to the people I love,
the speeches I want to give,
the stories I want to tell,
the money I want to earn,
the books I want to publish,
the money I want to spend,
the people I want to help,
the years I spent depressed,
the anxiety of my youth,
my brothers and their wives,
my nieces and nephew,
the places I want to go,
the things I want to own.
May I forget the future.
May I forget the past.
May I forget who I am.
May I live so totally in the present moment
that I experience You,
that I live in your bliss, perfect peace,
the eternal now.
