Raven 155: Pores

The boundary between imagined self and imagined others is shot full of holes. Through which compassion flows, becoming compassion.

Case

One day Badger came by for a private chat. "What is the source of compassion?" he asked.
"Pores," said Raven.
"How are pores the source of compassion?" asked Badger.
Raven said, "There are small pores in between the big ones."
Badger asked, "What do the pores do?"
Raven said, "There are littler pores in between the small ones."
Badger said, "And so on, I suppose."
Raven said, "Not much left, after all."

Verse

Bare feet on the cool kitchen tiles
A wisp of steam rising from a mug of coffee
A bean sprout pushing through soil in a paper cup
Someone upstairs stirring into the day.
Outside, down the slope, a stream wends between trees,
Waterbugs skating on it.
The Earth, as ever, crawling with its creatures.
The veil between, an infinite fractal of holes,
Gone.

Case by Robert Aitken; introduction and verse by Meredith Garmon

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