| Samhuinn,
for St. Columba When Death comes May I greet him with a smile As an old friend I know his work, his commission, I know how he guards zealously the sacred boundaries Separating the living and the dead I know these boundaries I have crossed over them For love I have died Entering darkness with no guide To search for another's heart To join in the Celebration For which the universe was created-- The stars by night are the same The same sun and moon do shine But the sea is different It has no shores It winds are dreams and visions Its waves are bliss and ecstasy Its depths contain Eternity And I have sailed upon it My craft rests by the dock Its sails ready to hoist, to set, to trim The helm awaits my hand Soul companions are my shipmates The fire of stars burning in their eyes The songs of the constellations Circle within their smiles Joy dances in their hearts But it is not my time to depart My hands say, "These palms still contain seeds of light To be scattered upon the earth." My lips and tongue say, "We taste the air-- It stirs, it whispers, It hovers and drifts in restless gusts. The air is pregnant: Light and darkness The turning of the year The barriers separating all worlds grow faint The gateways now luminous-- The eye clairvoyant The ear telepathic Touch clairsentient The Earth Herself is here Waiting for Her children, To hear the Song-- To feel the Fire To taste the Light To touch the Joy To embrace the Love At the center of our hearts At the center of the circle At the center of the universe." Listen! Can you hear it? The sound of galaxies whirling, spinning, and colliding Sailing on celestial winds? The wind in the leaves of the trees The soft rustling The tender caress As sweet as any Lover Her fingers running through your hair? Who is like my Beloved? At her touch, The sun and moon dissolve Into a brighter light Day and night join as one The life animating plant, rock, animal, and tree Human and Divine being Returns to its source To the seed at the center of the heart. In a dark place Silence blossoms Revealing the distances separating and uniting all things-- I hear the Song of the Universe. In a solitude pregnant with love Distances are overcome And the stars draw near and greet me As an old friend. |
Elegy
for Kathy It has grown quiet now-- My tears are no longer falling But my hands and arms continue to search for you I have told them that the night is deep I have told them that the stars were placed in the sky To remind us of the Mysteries still hidden within our hearts But their longing is beyond the power of words to reach That is why my tears Betray even poetry And continue falling. Male and female join As night and day Yet even a star so nobly poised Amid the void, the void which holds its mysterious heart Even a star celebrates its own light In the face of the planets Revolving around it Yet the child's cry reminds us both Of the womb from which we were born And the destiny we have yet to attain But the child's cry can be comforted The child held close, the child loved But who will comfort my heart As I search the night As tears continue searching my cheeks Still looking for your smile Still longing to hear your heartbeat? No seashell recalls the songs of the sea Or the waves rippling and falling upon the shore As well as my ears remember your laughter As well as my skin Remembers your love. If I could have but one more hour To walk beside you To share your company as you shove off From the shores of the life we have spent together But you would not grant me this request Even if you could You know I would not return But would continue on beside you. I tell my eyes It is no use They will never see you again But they are more persuasive than I They say they see you everywhere I look In a thousand settings In a thousand memories Which still beg to comfort me, to hold me, to love me As I had hoped to love you every day of my life. I have grown quiet now My tears are no longer falling My blood flows through my body My lungs continue to breathe My arms and hands are calm My eyes and ears are at peace We no longer argue Where and when we will find you Or how we will live without you You see, I have taken over their cause-- In my innermost heart I speak on their behalf: One heart in quiet consultation with another heart Time, space, life, and death They can no longer keep us apart And I say what I would have said anyway And what you know is true also: I love you with all my heart And I will love you forever and again I say I love you so I miss you so much But I know you my dear You would even find it funny That I use a towel now Instead of a handkerchief To dry away my tears. |
| by Bill Mistele | by Bill Mistele |