Near and Far, I'm Afraid

Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. 
- Jeremiah 23:23-24 














If I run to the Sangre de Cristo mountains

and disappear in New Mexico high desert sage

even the hummingbirds will buzz your presence

if I scuba dive and snorkel off of Cozumel

and touch a Queen Angel and stroke a spotted eagle ray

there you are, breathing and bubbling along

if I hide in my cerebral mess and wallow in pain

and push away with hands and feet any incarnate love

or busy my life with work and finance and hobby

and distract myself with tweets and digital friends

there you are, grabbing hold of me in the now of awareness

in the being and the self-deception and the running

will I finally find peace from the one who haunts

and never lets go of the chase or the hand or truth

if I cannot escape this unbearable holiness

will I ever submit to its infinite and infinitesimal reality

and float in its mysterious salt-water buoyancy

or will it kill me first, and I end up exactly there anyway