Golden Retrievals………………Mark Doty
Fetch? Balls and sticks capture my attention
seconds at a time. Catch? I don’t think so.
Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel who’s — oh
joy — actually scared. Sniff the wind, then
I’m off again: muck, pond, ditch, residue
of any thrillingly dead thing. And you?
Either you’re sunk in the past, half our walk,
thinking of what you never can bring back,
or else you’re off in some fog concerning
– tomorrow, is that what you call it? My work:
to unsnare time’s warp (and woof!), retrieving,
my haze-headed friend, you. This shining bark,
a Zen master’s bronzy gong, calls you here,
entirely, now: bow-wow, bow-wow, bow-wow.
There is a Buddhist idea of being in the now, of being present. You are in a calm middle ground that is not pulled by regrets of the past or by anxiety about the future. You are fully in the moment, you are fully “present.” The demands of ego dissipate, and judgment is in short supply.
This state is blissful and is not easy to attain. Some people practice meditation to achieve this state. Some look to their canine buddies for inspiration. Some special beings simply have this quality from an early age.
When I met David during the AI tour last September, I was struck by his calm presence. He had a joyfulness that rested on a deep peace. He stood there, so patient, so ready for whatever would come. He was present, completely in the now. As I’ve watched him over the past few months, he has shared many different public sides of himself, but through it all, I see a core of calm, of living from his center.
David has a full range of musical connections. He can bring on the schmexy and get us dancing (think Zero Gravity); he can go to that almost agonizing place of yearning and make us ache with pain (think Don’t Let Go). He can also bring us to a place of stillness and peace.
When he sang Angels in Albuquerque, there was a stillness in that dinghy club. Bodies were calm, voices mercifully quieted. David went to that place of deep peace and those of us who were ready, went with him. Past and future fell away and there was only the Voice that took us on a ride. Soaking up his voice felt like a blessing. As he stood up to go, he said, “I love you!”
And I know that he does.
Another fan site has referred to David as Jesus 2.0. A family friend has talked about his “Christ-like nature.” Perhaps. But perhaps he is simply living from his true self, our Bodhisatva David, being present.
- davidfanLIZ
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