July 1, 2016

A Parting...

there was never any beginning and there will be no end; 

except when the two meet.

                         

                             "the first step is not the journey,

                                the journey is not the destination,

                                       and yet

                                               where i want to go

                                                       it all becomes one....."

haridwar   -  and a boat of leaves

The current was swift.

Soft peepal leaves

Woven and stitched into a boat

Decked with flowers

Carried the flickering flame.

It danced on the waves

And swirled through the waters.

Holding within our prayers, grief and pain.

The evening aarti glowed

On the opposite shore

And dark shadows moved across

The rushing waters.

The flame, tear-like, 

Glistened once on the wave tips

And was swept away

In the gathering dusk.

The consigning of grief and pain

To the sacred waters

Was complete...

Only the memory

Lingered.

Your journey with us was over.

It was a letting go,

A giving up,

A cleaving away of the carpace

Leaving behind a vulnerable emptiness.

Along with the river

The memory of our togetherness

And the journey flowed on...