From Containment to Expansion: A Tenderloin Meditation in Two Parts
1
The seed does not contain the flower. The sun does not contain the fire. The eye does not contain the vision. The body does not contain the dance. The mouth does not contain the song. The knee does not contain the prayer. The pencil does not contain the testimony. The spark does not contain the holy. The eye does not contain the tear. The ore does not contain the iron. The iron does not contain the chain. The tree does not contain the lynch. The blackness does not contain the danger. The wing does not contain the flight. The moon does not contain the howl. The desert does not contain the sand. The water does not contain the ocean. The ocean does not contain the water. The machete does not contain the cut. The cane does not contain the sugar. The tongue does not contain the lie. The gun does not contain the murder. The circle does not contain the infinity. The path does not contain the way. The silence does not contain the nothingness. The stone does not contain the monument. The end does not contain the totality. The library does not contain the gods. The universe does not contain the galaxies. The neutrality does not contain the peace. The future does not contain the past. The past does not contain the future. The bone does not contain the break. The suffering does not contain the blessing. The survival does not contain the blessing. The recovery does not contain the loss. The pitch does not contain the tar. The hit does not contain the run. The neck does not contain the choke. The poet does not contain the poem. The sky does not contain the watcher.
2
We talk to God in the Tenderloin. I know God talking about me cuz my ears burning. I know I’m somebody’s prayer. Different from being prayed for. Godliness is a choice I make every time I enter a door or a dream. A conversation not an order. God don’t got more than ten commandments. I’m a commandment. We a commandment. Ain’t no glass ceiling between us and God. Ain’t no heaven between here and God. Ain’t nobody standing in the way of my promotion. I walk to work every day. You’d know that if you decided that living was your job. Your breath smell like Goddrunk. God the designated driver. God get you home safe. God make you laugh like they do in the movies. That’s what that feeling of silliness, of lucidity, of divinity is. That’s what this story is. Difference is, this morning don’t need to spill Mary’s blood. Your radio set to wake you up to the miracle station. This show, inventory your space. Rent God a room. Let God reside in you. Offer this, your body, as the one to view this human condition through. We are an expansion of God’s territory. God don’t end in the Tenderloin. Forever don’t skip over the Tenderloin. If you hear me singing, “Increase My Territory,” I ain’t asking for more, I’m asking less. That’s the lessen. I’m in the thought of God. Thought of God. Make sense? So unselfish. So much honor. I’m in service. I’m stronger in this wake than when I lay down to sleep. I’m gon’ do what is expected of me. You heard right. I’m expected. And anything expected cannot be contained.
