Figuring Out Life While Aging
I would have wept at the sunrise
had I not smelled rain coming;
there is only joy with the bird’s flight
over the lake’s unfathomable depth.
When the heart offers to open
and the mind does not jail it,
the moment and the path coincide
into the blind seer’s holy gift.
I would not refuse it.
I could not refuse its shaping power;
even through the tangled fears,
sunlight warms and draws me.
I had allowed my heart
to wither
and dry out
in the absence
of one I loved.
Looking at the lushness
of another summer,
I discovered
different sources
greening me up.
With the swelling and softening
of my heart,
beyond tears, my eyes
Could recognize
new wellsprings of joy.
Weathering storms and
pausing for moments of joy:
sunlight in shadows.
With the silence of light in darkness,
with the yearning for tenderness
of an obedient child,
the compounding of grief
and relief
releases
comforting perfume:
scars and other gifts
that have awakened me
in a forgiving world.
—/
The delightful impermanence
of sunlit flickering shadows
shows me a path
out of the fearful
cave, out into
the blue-skyed green-leafing
world,
where storms can pass,
and living through them
teaches the beauty of joy.
Learning Living 