Swimming in the Falling Star Cave

diving, ecstacy, grace, light, resurrection, sacramental, sacramental world, Sarah de Nordwall blog, sea, transfiguring

You can only reach the cave by boat.

I was excited by that.

And once you enter in
You leave the brilliant sun outside
And so, the water although crystal pure
Is dark,
But all the same, I longed to dive right in.

Just then, I looked up
To a tiny opening in the roof of the cave
Where a ray of light pierced through
And shot like a heavenly visitor
Into the water,
with miraculous effect.

The light fell like a falling star
And for some reason no one could explain
Deep in the water, formed a bright green star
That sparkled 15 feet beneath the waves.

I dived into the sea
And swam through cool dark water till I saw the green star
With her luminous blue tail
And suddenly brilliant light was on my hands.

I, moving through my darkened underwater cosmos
Struck upon this vein of brilliance.

Utterly transfigured, all my being flowed with light.
I, joyous, rose up through the water in the star’s bright tail
Till bursting through the surface into air
I felt the light fall radiant on my laughing face.

And treading water in this unexpected glory
Laughed again and reached up into light transfiguring
And cried out to the captain of the boat
“Is this how we arrive in heaven,
Emerging from the watery dark whilst following the star
Unique to us?”

The surface of the water, crossed by light,
Refracted on the cave’s roof,
Danced with accompanying delight

And I, returning to my boat once more
Moved off into the dark baptismal water of the cave

and from the benediction of the falling star
Found all the sparkling sea, cold on my flesh,
Preparing me for resurrected life
And tingling with the brightening salt of grace.

Sarah de Nordwall July 2006

4 Comments

  1. sounds rapturous! you make Heaven and the things of God seem as natural as breathing and more enthralling than sex, drugs and rock n roll! (which they might be). – k xx 🙂

  2. I watched a shooting star fall close
    And despite the blinding light and heat
    I humbly approached
    But instead of a distant divine I found
    A heart I knew so well –
    But all that she was and could become in one.
    Heaven fell to earth that day
    And I seek the source, to shine as she –
    For pure light guides us all
    to the Light of the first day, of the first dawn
    Everlasting
    All embracing
    And here.

  3. radiant, changed, synergy, sparkling, shiny
    Laughing, cool water, deep dark water
    Star, bright light, radiating through the cool deep water
    Brightening up the darkest place
    Reaching out, reaching up, stretching, diving, swimming
    Freedom, energy, splashing
    Marvelling at the wat world
    Delighting at the starry heavens
    Rejoicing in this world of ours.

  4. Hi Jan, it's lovely to see your liberating words in response to the poem. Isn't it wonderful how we can reconnect with our passion for life through poetry?

    It was wonderful to meet you on the Find Your Story, creative writing course on the canal boat. I hope we get to organise another one as it was such a treat.

    Keep writing!

    Love from Sarah in New York… in the awe inspiring Public Library that is more like a palace!

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