The small, small self

The small, small self                                                                                        
 
Mind is the culprit, said my Lord,
luring the self, through thoughts,
 
away from the holy, momentary Real
into a realm of its own making;
 
providing an illusory continuity,
vacillating between fantasy of future
 
and the illusion of memory,
only lightly touching upon the Now
 
as we chase our desires; run from our fears;
conjure ourselves up a world
 
where we are the center, the purpose,
the sovereign and goal; where even God
 
(if we care to imagine One)
we have tamed to follow our bidding.
 
O child of God, how brief, lonely and futile
is the small, small self.