A graduate of the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, George Payne teaches philosophy at Finger Lakes Community College and is the founder of Gandhi Earth Keepers International.
JOY ABOUNDS
I am a victim of the future.
Joyless, one day I will rot
with the mud worms.
Disintegrating into the murky
tunnels of the moles and shrews,
I will decompose into the difference
between wonder and surprise.
That’s why I am joyful today.
The sky is too dolphin belly clean
not to suck it in with sublime reflection.
The rivers are too unscripted not to analyze
their currents and rapids with a prayerful smile.
The mountains are too grief stricken not to stand
in awe of their shadows’ unlimited trauma.