The Revelations Of Paradise Poem by Johnathan Stokes

There he stands
the expander of minds
the teacher of things,
a profound lover of knowledge -
a basic root of wisdom.

At his pulpit
he professes
this and that,
the values of understanding
the essence of intelligence
which draws one nearer
to the God of the well-rounded man:
wisdom's possessor…
and all of this is done
in his sanctuary of learning.

His head sways -
a tilting of sorts -
as if the majority of thought
that consumes him at any given time
is moving heavily from hemisphere to hemisphere in his brain
outwardly tipping his cranium
as if it were but a vessel
with its passengers being his ideas
all-together walking to either side
to glance over
at a river of thoughts,
the steady stream of consciousness,
which allows him from time to time
to cast out a net and catch an elusive epiphany
which dwells at certain depths
where the common awareness is unfamiliar.

This grandeur nature
is but a result
of his immersion into the now
which so often makes apparent
life's divulgences,
as he'll say.
And so on he goes…
"Today we talk of paradise, what do you know of paradise?
Some place far off above the clouds,
some mental or spiritual nirvana, totally free,
devoid of worry and mental calamities,
or is it simply some-thing you'll attain in the future
when dreams are accomplished? '
He then answers his own question
too soon to have really expected any response
but never having hinted at the rhetorical nature of his propositions…
"Paradise… well, paradise is this life.
Not what you will have,
or had,
but what is right now.
The suns warmth, the bird's song,
the trees gentle swaying by touch of wind,
paired with the slightest encroachment of the pensive thought
that all of this could abruptly end
or simply change at any moment…'

'Only your out-look
masked by hesitations
and hope for other-worldly destinations
stops you from experiencing what is."

The profound lover of knowledge,
knowledge being a basic root of wisdom,
says once more in further clarification…
"For the Gods of past
were the ones who visited us!
They always came to this place
from wherever they may have journeyed
curious as to what paradise is.
They found that paradise is in the subtle:
the subtle changes,
the subtle sounds,
the subtle awareness that nothing is permanent,
the subtle cues everywhere
that evoke the grandiose feelings
found in the grand scheme of this overall life force…
Knowledge tells us, as well as wisdom, both in this instance alike
that this life, this life…
This life is our paradise."