The Temple

and people come
and they leave,
stepping inside
this world
within worlds;
bringing flowers,
many offerings,
soulful songs,
gratitude,
and prayers;
and while I watch
from the fringe,
hearts laid to rest
upon the stone,
they leave behind
and take with them
what they've been looking for -
the pulsing silence
that never left their folds.

The Call of the Ocean

and when I am lost,
I seek you out
with my eyes,
for the salt
that courses
through your veins
and mine,
for all the mysteries
that cannot be solved
in a moment
which I call a lifetime,
for all the shores
that I can never walk,
for all the rocks
that I can never climb,
for all the waves
that I can never count
or hope to catch
with my blinded eyes,
for the wild, unyielding dream
of a world that is possible,
when I feel the tug
of your restful presence
calling out to me....
beyond me, within me,
is an ocean
waiting to be explored...

Intimacy and Love

I read somewhere -
'what you seek is seeking you';
and I wonder now
how that is true;
is that why the swan sings
before it finally rests
its well-worn wings?
is that why the leaves fall
into the ever-open arms
of their beloved earth?
is that why the ocean's waters
are lost in an endless dance
with passing clouds?
is that why the crickets call
to break the dark silence
of a night's long fall?
is this seeking
the timeless presence
and burning absence
of intimacy
and love?
 

When I Went Looking for Joy

there was a time
when I went looking for joy -
in the forests,
in the mountains,
in the flowers,
in the sky,
in the ocean,
in the moonlight,
in the music,
in the whys,
a joy that was elusive
like a mirage on a long drive,
or raindrops that vanished
in the steam of the sky,
she was never there
where I looked,
and always there
before she was found -
like a one year old
playing hide and seek
never hidden, and so
never found!
and then I found her
right here,
watching me grope around,
what a fool I had been
to look for her
in the 'Lost and Found';
and so I learned
to play her game,
without questioning
or taking sides,
to dive into the space
between knowing
and not knowing,
for that's where she hides!

 

The Undercurrent

like a great white shark
roams deep waters,
searching,
seeking satiation,
sadness
lurks beneath
the deathly calm -
the undercurrent
that revisits
my bosom
time and again.