Written For Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble's Voice, Verse, and Vision concert April 2010
WERE SISYPHUS TO DISCOVER THE GLORY OF DUNG
BY P.D. Strobridge
If, Sisyphus,
Deposed of vainglorious Corinthian crown,
Wearing his same haggard grimacing frown
Again, while rolling the same ragged old rock
Again, up the same boring steep slope again,
Bearing his own sad weight plus that of
Cold stone again, only to have it roll
From the top of the peak,
All the way down againa€¦
yes, were Sisyphus to slip
between his grunting and straining and
constant complaining, slip - just a€“ once
into one open moment free of momentum,
into one small gap of serenity,
where all brave thoughts are born-
he might- just might
muster the will and the might
to crown himself all over again;
this time however, a coronation
into a kingdom of humble intention,
thus break the curse of repetitiona€¦
discovering,
right there at his feet,
down there in the dirt
glistening gloriously
an empire Magnanimous
where a diligent, devoted, dung-beetle
rolling
with rear feet,
a huge dung-ball at her back,
sees clearly where shea€™s been,
and dreaming what may be,
demonstrates,
for love of precious larvae-
how easy
rolling is.