I call this third volume of poems “The Hum of It All” to indicate a unifying process in my life. We are born into a world of dualisms. It’s just the way things are from birth. We hear a limited range of sounds, but we know from science that we are unable to hear or experience so many more sounds, echoes of the Big Bang, that move through us unheard.

My Siamese cat Max purrs loudly on my chest to remind me of this bigger concert in the cosmic music hall. My choice of the alpha/omega symbol, linked with my family of origin, signals continuity. Many poems in this and earlier volumes point toward an evolving spirituality of insights from east and west. It’s a way of echoing a motto from my Jesuit days of finding God in all things. But my view of God has changed. Now the divine is more beyond knowledge (agnostic), yet as close as my body and within wider nature as an all-pervasive mystery (pantheistic). 

While unconstrained by the rules and theologies of religion, I’ve been pulled by them toward justice and charity. My path continues with recent surprises like cancer. This episode has been part of my journey from “sky” to earth religion with my brethren in garden, river, and forest. 

I hope these poems depict important changes in my long life now nearing its end. I also hope that you enjoy the book.     

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”  T. S. Eliot

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Eugene C. Bianchi is a Professor of Religion Emeritus at Emory University. He is the founding director of the Emeritus College program at Emory. Mr. Bianchi makes his home in Athens, Georgia, with his wife, Margaret (Peggy) Herrman.