page 134

if there is a mountain

that cracks the shoulders

by which it holds,

remember the mind

makes the mount

its size composed.

why do you think

of the highest in the land?

when the shear weight

of your thought

can erode the summit

to a grain of sand?

:::

Love says, "Space in my enemy.

Space in place,

space in word,

space in action.

Space is the absence of me."

Love says, "Sit here, next to me."

Love says, "You are my own."

Love says nothing and holds your hand.

"Are you encompassed yet? No?

I will keep on, until you understand."

:::

if love is a need,

    when did you lose it?

if love is a want,

    why not have had it?

if love is a hurt,

    why not let it go?

if love is a belief,

    love is never outside oneself.

:::

are we looking for love,

or for someone to love us?

are we looking for money,

or for money to make us rich?

are we looking for safety,

or for something to keep us safe?

the true problem is the looking,

the seeking,

the finding,

the searching.

do waves look for the ocean?

:::

has the day of the life

filled you with pain and regret?

has the hand of time

plagued you with more to forget?

if light fades from your body,

you are becoming a silhouette.

turn westward!

before moonlight's hour!

turn to face the thief that is the sun,

and relinquish your power!

those who harness

their own internal glow

will never stray

from light's infinite row.

:::

the Universe patiently waits

for the knees of our souls to heel,

for the head of our minds to bow,

and for the palms of our hearts to rise

through the air in surrender.

only during this true act of acceptance

can we stand tall,

turn upward,

and allow ourselves to receive.

:::

when one feels gratitude,

the taste of each experience

is sweet on the palate.

even the once enticing

pleasure of chocolate

returns to its bitter state

housed inside the shell

of the cacao bean.

:::

to taste, we must focus on tasting.

to smell, we must focus on smelling.

to touch, we must focus on touching,

and so forth.

to meditate, we must step outside of our senses...

to become aware of our most truthful sense...

being.

:::

He ends his speech triumphantly shouting,

"We are a strong people!

We are a proud people!

We pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps!

No problem is too tough to solve!"

A bonnet-clad wife sweeping her porch says to herself,

"What if we lose our balance?

What then?

By this point, we have fallen,

and our boots are already on."

:::

the tenderness of friendship

disarms the harpist;

before too long,

she begins to play harp music.

               intimacy is not often erotic,    

but quiet, and completely    

unencumbered.