The Original Wound

author’s note:

Though Eden is lost
its loveliness
remains in the heart
and the imagination
         -- Mary Oliver


THE ORIGINAL WOUND

According to this myth:
our problems first began
when the first human being
felt confused because
it sensed it was more than one.

Unable to resolve that tension
the human then split in half
and one half went East
while the other half went West.

Perhaps you’ve already guessed
the happy ending:

eventually
both halves will meet
halfway around the globe
and recognize their missing part
then join together again.

But no—
the resolution won’t be so simple
because

as it walked, the East half felt
the same inner tension
felt by its parent
and so
soon tore apart
and one half headed North
while the other half headed South.

The West half also felt that tension
and so
quickly broke in half
and one half walked North
while the other half walked South.

Following that pattern
those four halves soon became eight
and then those eight became sixteen
and then…well, you get the idea.

Because we can’t accept all we are
we keep breaking apart

and because those losses feel so painful
we keep searching
for something that might heal us:

at first, a thing might seem to be
the exact right thing
but in time, we discover
it’s not the thing
that can make us whole again
and then the wound weeps even louder.

I believe this myth explains why
you seemed so perfect
when I first met you:

in you I saw the thing
I felt to be missing—
the thing could make my life whole.

And you saw the same thing in me—
I seemed to fill a void
and for a moment at least
you didn’t feel that sense of loss.

But our mistake was blessed one:
it brought the two of us together

and as we’ve struggled to return
to that garden we first knew
we’ve looked deeper into ourselves
and in the process
discovered many parts we’d missed.

I don’t know if our union will hold

but by working to repair the break
we’ve both become more whole
and in that way help to heal the wound—

a cut that first began
when the first human being
couldn’t resolve the first conflict.

mythsteps · The Original Wound

33 1/3 New Fables & Myths
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© 2023, Michael R. Patton

The Kissing Fish

author’s note:

“I’m gonna do what I gotta do to get the union back!”
               -- from the movie Hoffa


THE KISSING FISH

As they do
nearly every evening at this time
the kissing fish
arc out of the lake.
One coming from the north.
One coming from the south.

The two trout
meet in mid-air
and for one still moment
their mouths adhere

and all the people who’ve gathered
around the pond to witness
this twilight summer ceremony
hold their breath
as they experience
the wondrous union
as a union of their own, within.

But impermanence is the cost
of living on this planet--
in the next moment
the rainbow arc made
by the two trout
breaks

with a collective sigh
from the crowd
as the spent bodies
flop helplessly down
and land on the water,
creating two rings of spray

then disappear under
the orange autumn leaves
rolling with the waves.

Some couples
now drift into the woods,
hand in hand.

But the truth is:
everyone here has become
a lover again
by opening to
the glorious perfection
of this gentle event.

Soultime: a novel
© 2021, Michael R. Patton