Inhale:
Where am I in all of this confusion?
If I pause and take a moment to breathe,
letting go of this veil of illusion
[that separates (like two different leaves
along two slim branches that stretch their way
in opposite directions, yet never
touch, except through the trunk from which they splay)
with a soft touch easily severing
one’s sense of unity with all living]
just listening to the low, quiet breath
of an opened flower or an old tree,
I recognize myself; my misgivings
about my life’s purpose that make me fear death
fade away. I am at peace, at last free.
Exhale:
Am I just motion in some great chaos?
If I release this cloud from deep inside,
letting the soft flow of air slip across
my tongue and pursed lips, it does not collide
with the not-me of the universe, but
instead melts back into a single stream
of boundless energy that we each cut
and divide into our separate dreams,
imagining that these walls we construct
are so solid, so real, unbreakable.
Yet in a single breath these veils shatter,
our isolation seems to self-destruct,
and those beliefs once so unshakeable
crumble in the still space beyond matter.
04 APR 2003