BELOVED FOOL

Pause for a moment,
come closer -- beloved fool.

Is it because you found me among gods
that you rattle bones and dance around fires?
Never was I right or left, high or low, within or without,
yet you say I am the 'unity of things'.

Look! While you search clouds and stars
I am the eye within your eyes.
As you cry out I am the sound of your voice,
your hearing within hearing.

You reach for book, holy cup, bell and flame,
yet I am the touch within touch,
scent within scent,
savor within savor.

Ten thousand miles you walk to the sacred well,
yet all the while I am the sandals on your feet,
and the brief emptiness between your strides
I fill with suns and moons.

See, hear?
The lover's tune is playing again
in the springs beneath your busy mind.
The lamp still burns in your shadows, unseen.

Come home, beloved fool --
come home.

Frank Gorin
1997