Immanuel Suttner: ‘Shuffle’, ‘Once I knew a man’ and ‘Advice For Grieving’

Shuffle

Shuffle starts off
rather slow
the limbs must learn
to feel the flow

then we shuffle
running man
there seems no end
to what we can

We spin and t-step
side to side
the body and the
one inside

then we shuffle
to the chair
the walker and the
blanket there

the dance, the dance
open and close
the heart it watches
feels
and knows

Immanuel Suttner

Once I knew a man

Once I knew a man
who turned into a sparrow
out of sheer embarrassment
he hid his bowler hat
and umbrella
behind his smile
and flew sheepishly out the window
have you seen that man?

If so, tell him, I beseech thee,
that I love him
that the world was not made only
for the brutal and the brute
tell him
if he will fly back to me
I will hold him
while he
chirps

Immanuel Suttner

Advice For Grieving

When loss comes
as it will
and you tell yourself
you are drowning
in a dull ache
or a sharp pain
hold on
hold on to this
as your life raft

not onto platitudes
not onto imaginary
better futures
but on to
the familiar air
coming into your nostrils
the rise of your chest
the movement in your abdomen

hold on to
the pain
sharp and crisp as burnished steel
a sword to petty concerns
a fire to singe vanities
bringing you closer
than you’ve ever been
to the heart of the mystery

like the morning
you rise early
to embark upon some
great journey

hold on
to those with you
at this birth
into a different life
that will reveal itself
as you go

Immanuel Suttner