chapter twelve - peaceful presence

Gathering Fragrance

"I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred, but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature, as a healer of misery, as a messenger of wonder, as an architect of peace." - Diane Ackerman

"Together we have opened the way and stepped
Into the immense space outside of space
After many years of working to tear asunder the net of time.
We have saved up the light of shooting stars
And made a torch helping those who want to go home.

The old frangipani tree offers its fragrant flowers this morning.
You and I have never really been apart. Spring has come.
The pines have put out new shining green needles
And on the edge of the forest, the wild Plum
Trees have burst into flower." - Thich Nhat Hanh

Slowly, we are gathering
the threads.
Slowly, we have begun
to dance.

These old water ways
wash us with words which will
not fit in the library I love,
like //ke:n, though it still carries
the moving knowing
of our family,
with two slanted streams
which link us in spirit,
and twin dots daring
you to imagine this page
as more than two dimensional,
bylines of vibrating truth
piercing the white expanse
deeply.

Ah, this gathering dance
calls together our !gi:
given us in abundance
when we remember
the ancient rain animals
and join them in adoration
for a world beyond knowing,
a vast living
who has granted us this n/om
for a brief moment
so that we may reach across
and grab your hand,
holding this ever expanding circle
of whom we have come to love.

chapter thirteen