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Shaken Into Stillness
​
I was shaken into stillness,
slowly at first, the waves played at my feet and
pulled me along, this way and that -
and it seemed to be just the way of the world,
though at times I was left gasping for air, so I felt.
The signs were all there and yet unseen,
so it caught me unawares, rose up from beneath
with such natural force, blown all about,
until I could not say which way was up
and it felt like I might drown.
And in truth a part of me did -
that part I once mistook for the whole,
as a being in sleep, so enthralled with the dream
knows only of self as projection believed,
until some unseen hand moves them to wake;
wake up from the fray and the fight, awake,
and blinking, unsure, step into the light
of your own self, that unchanging space
in whose constant knowing illusion is spent,
and dissolves in the depths of itself.
Old Friend
​
Hello old friend, we meet again,
where two roads greet beneath Bircher Common.
Your form a giant, mine a girl
that once stood not three feet
above your wizened, crag sloped foot.
The windiest spot for miles around
as Dad was often heard to say,
and taking note of lines and space -
a sea of silver rippling grass -
would smile and state, grade A!
Elbows down against the gate,
a moment’s pause, then upwards on
or else about turn, quickly step,
with thoughts of dwindling autumn light
and stews snug in the oven.
Countless times have I passed here
and, belly bent, stretched out a hand
to touch your crevice contoured skin
that speaks of many things of old,
and years before my own.
And when this body is long gone,
I do suspect you’ll stay a while
to hear new voices up the lane,
in unison - one, two, three, wee!
What joy, what love, what mystery.