After Jean Gebser
Everything blooming
is destined to die.
Who sees it coming
knows that it’s nigh.
The tree feels still
in the breezy air.
We rarely conceive
who we actually are.
Flowers think flower.
creatures, creature.
A clod in the fields
should be our teacher.
***
Jean Gebser was a German-born eccentric philosopher who fed to Switzerland amid the carnage of WW2. Lama Anagarika Govinda described him as “one of the most creative and stimulating thinkers of modern Europe.” His bio is here.
Alles Blühen
meint schon den Tod.
Nur die sich mühen,
sind wirklich bedroht.
Still fühlt der Baum
den zitternden Wind.
Wir denken kaum
was wir eigentlich sind.
Blume denkt Blume,
und Tier denkt Tier.
Des Ackers Krume
ist gewisser als wir.