milky way shines
souls gather by the fire
against an early autumn wind
darkness and  chill
but still
soft rhythms play
tho' hands are cold

the wind snatches the voice from my flute
and makes it her own
celebration and mourning
food and wine
music is the food
the wind is the wine
a feast prepared
a feast shared
between Creator and created

we play as dancers sway
and whirl
somewhere near, a skunk!
we laugh
sister skunk is welcome here!
all are welcome here
in this circle

milky way shines
souls gather by the fire
against an early autumn wind

primal heat
ancestral beat

voices of ancestors cry
joyful hands fly
while pounding skins
flutes play the wind

bodies move
with an ancestral groove
that is more felt
than heard

rhythm trance
hearts beat and dance
Dance!
we are one in rhythm
a communion of beat and sweat

echoes of another time
and place
our drum-song sets a sacred space
for Mystery

one-one-one we are one-one-one
purged in the fire of
primal heat
living the beat

(*spoilers*)

I wanted to read this book because of the title. To explain this, I have to back up and tell you that I studied physics as a second bachelor's degree. I am not a physicist now, I am a technical writer - that's a story for another time. I have retained an active interest in what the great scientific minds of our time are up to (those Frisky Ponies), especially as relates to the field of quantum physics.

Quantum physics tells us that a particle exists around a nucleus at a certain level. If it acquires enough energy, in the form of discrete parcels of energy known as quanta, it disappears off of the current level and reappears on the next higher level. (If the particle receives enough energy, it may jump more than one level.) This change of state is the infamous "quantum leap." It can happen in reverse, a particle can give off quanta of energy and "drop" to a lower state.

The very interesting thing here is, there is no "between". The particle does not travel between level one and level two. It never ever exists 'between' the two states. It is either in one or the other. I don't know about you, but this is hard for me to get my head around. I can understand it as a theoretical possibility, sort of, but... does this happen in nature where I can see it? Not to my knowledge. (Some biologists think it does but that is another rabbit hole altogether.)

So where do the particles go? String theory postulates other dimensions - particles pop out of one dimension, into another, then back again. A mulitverse as opposed to a universe.

When I heard the title of the book - Between the Bridge and the River - my imagination went wild, because I went all sort of quantum in my thinking. I couldn't wait to see what Craig had done with this "between" thing, this thing that physics says may not really exist.

In Craig's book, the "between" state is the Celtic shamanic journey, the magical dimension of non-ordinary reality, where grace and miracles and transformation happen. The Celtic shamanic journey is made "betwixt and between" - between the sea and the shore, between the tree and the sky, between light and dark... and in Craig's novel, between life and death.

George steps off the bridge into death and makes a quantum leap back into life. In between, he is transformed as he enters the dimension of grace and miracles, perhaps because his last thought - the 'quanta' that sends him into the next state - is for another, for Claudette. Fraser's journey is even more miraculous - his journey between life and death takes him into the dimension of dreams, where he is transformed into what he pretended to be all along, a true spiritual healer. Fraser is transformed in spite of his selfishness, George is transformed because of his selflessness. Then there is Saul, who lives perpetually suspended between life and death. His journey takes him deeper into a living death, spiraling always into a black hole of his own creation.

I love this book. I don't know if Craig was thinking about quantum physics or shamanic journeys as he wrote. I suspect his muse has a working knowledge of these concepts. As with all great art, it doesn't so much matter what the artist had in mind. The miracle happens in the eye (and mind) of the beholder. I was transformed by this novel, and deeply moved. Yes, it was entertaining and funny and sexy. I expected this. But mostly, to me, it was profound. This, I did not expect.

My copy of the novel is signed by the author now. He was gracious and probably very tired as he signed it, after the third of three shows at the Comedy Works in Denver. I am deeply grateful to Craig for this book. I can't recommend it highly enough, because particles disappear and reappear and the journey between is a mystery. And because bumblebees can fly.